Fly
by She-who-loves-fanfiction
Summary: When Sirius Black meets a new girl on the platform, he wants to know everything about her. After all, he gets bored easily. But then he starts to get uneasy. She's hiding something, something big, and it's something to do with him. From fighting with James and running away when someone mentions her brother, something is not right with her, and Sirius is determined to find out what.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Ironically, J.K Rowling would not have to write a disclaimer.**

 **A/N: This is my new fanfiction, and I have it mostly planned out, so new chapters should be up pretty frequently. The characters may not be how you see them, but this is how I imagine them reacting when they meet a new person. Let me know if you like it by reviewing. I love feedback. Siriusly.  
Enjoy xx**

It was Sirius who noticed her first.  
King's Cross Station was ridiculous busy, as usual, on September the first, but the boy's internal girl radar had him peering through the crowds for someone he recognised, despite the fact that people kept getting in his way. A flash of a ponytail, a rattle of a trunk, a yell, a laugh. Finally, the crowds cleared slightly, so he could get a good look at the mysterious-looking girl he'd seen out of the corner of his eye.

She was wearing green glasses that matched her green eyes, he noticed, and she was very small; at least a head shorter than him, who was nearly 6 foot. She was not stunning, but she was striking, and there was something beautiful in the way she bit her lip and shuffled nervously from foot to foot, standing in the middle of the bustling train station, a book tucked under her arm. The girl also looked thoroughly lost. Not to mention confused.

So Sirius, always willing to help out a damsel in distress, and being as chivalrous and flirty as he was, decided to go help her out. He also hadn't found James yet, and was sort of bored, so flirting with a Muggle girl would pass the time, he supposed.

Fighting his way through the crowds, Sirius stopped in front of her and watched to see her reaction. Expecting a blush, or at the very least a smile, he was heartily disappointed, and a bit concerned. She stumbled backwards, looking like she'd seen a ghost, which honestly was possible, though quite unlikely, but you couldn't miss the look in her eyes when she saw Sirius Black, like she wanted to run away and hide. Like he was going to hurt her.

"Uh, hi!" Sirius started, hoping he hadn't scared her off. "You okay?"  
The girl blinked like she was coming out of a daydream, and smiled uncertainly.  
"Yeah, I'm just...well, I'm kind of lost. My brother left me to put his trunk away, or something, and he took my stuff, so..."  
"Right. Do you need me to take you somewhere? I mean, if you don't know your way around." He winked at her, and she bit her lip.  
"That would be great, it's just, you might not know...where it is. If you catch my meaning."  
Sirius looked down to where her wand drifted to her pocket, and watched as she withdrew her wand slightly, then grinned at the witch.  
"Platform 9 and 3/4 coming up."  
"Oh thank Merlin! I had no idea where to go! You are a wizard...right?"  
"Yep." He nodded, "Don't worry, follow me and we'll get on the train. Oh, and I want to introduce you to James."  
"Great. Umm, what's your name?"  
"Merlin, sorry." He slapped his hand to his forehead. "I'm Sirius. Sirius Black."  
There was that look again.

"So, hey, umm, what's your name?"  
She hesitated for a minute and then blurted out. "I'm Sage...Dawson, but call me Fly. If you don't I'll have to hex you."  
"Don't like your name?"  
Sage smiled. "Something like that."  
"This way then." Sirius made a sweeping gesture with his hand, and pointed towards the wall. Sage suddenly looked nervous.  
"You want me to walk through a wall?! Jeepers, I've just met you. How do I know that you're telling the truth, and that I'm not just going to crash into the wall and go flying, and you'll just run off to your James, laughing at me?"  
"Ouch. You have wounded me, love. Firstly, I would never do that, I am the epitome of chivalry. Secondly, he is not 'my' James. That responsibility is in the hands of a certain Lily Evans."  
"Okay then. Right. Good. Let's go then. I want my stuff back, if that's okay with you, 'epitome of chivalry'."  
"It is quite alright with me, S-Fly."

With that, he grabbed her hand and pulled her through the barrier, smiling at how small her hand was. As soon as they were through, she let go of his hand, but he could see a hint of blush on her cheeks and grinned.  
"Come on then Fly, let's go and get a carriage. I want to find Prongs and Moony."  
"Prongs, and...did you say moody?"  
Sirius laughed and corrected her. "Prongs and Moony. James Potter and Remus Lupin, though Remus is quite moody sometimes."  
"Why Prongs and Moony, though?"  
"Ahhh...it's kind of an inside joke."  
"Okay then."  
"What brings you here now? It's quite rare to find a transfer in your last year. You are in seventh year, right?"  
"Yes, but my old school...closed down! Yeah, it closed down, so I came here."  
"Right...what house do you want to be in, Fly?"  
"Ravenclaw, maybe. Or Gryffindor, but my parents wouldn't like that."  
"Your parents wouldn't like that? Why not?"  
She looked like she wanted to kick herself.  
"No reason." Sage spoke quickly, too quickly, and Sirius decided to find out why.  
After all, she was sweet, and funny. Also had parent problems, from the sound of it.  
Sirius knew all too well how bad that could be.

"You should want to be in Gryffindor, Fly."  
"Why? Because you're in that house?"  
"How did you know?"  
"My brother told me all about you guys. Lupin and Potter and you and Pettigrew. The Marauders, right?"  
"Yep." Sirius looked proud. "The best trouble-makers since the Prewett twins."  
"Humble lot too, by the sound of it." Sage laughed and pulled on his jacket sleeve. "Come on then, where is this compartment?"  
"Right this way."

They clambered up onto the train, past the full compartments, until the reached near the end of the train, to a compartment with three boys in it: James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.  
Sirius swept open the door with a theatrical 'slam'. "Hello all!"

"Padfoot!" James cried, and then they were exchanging a totally manly hug...handshake...thing.  
"Pads...who is this?" Remus lowered his book and smiled at Sage, who suddenly looked nervous.  
"Oh, right, this is Sage, but you should call her Fly."  
"Or I'll hex you." Sage chipped in, fingering her wand in her pocket protectively.  
"Sage? Like the herb? The one that my mum puts in stuffing?" Peter frowned at her, and James laughed meanly.  
Sage narrowed her eyes at the taller boy, whose hair was an indescribable mess.  
"No, like the name. By the way, has your mum ever told you to brush your hair? It looks like a Kneazle ate conditioner, and died."  
James scowled. "So, _Sage,_ has your mum ever told you not to be rude?"

The smaller girl clenched her fists; it was obviously a sensitive topic for her, and Sirius felt a wave of protectiveness sweep over him. "I asked you called me Fly. That, or call me nothing at all."  
"Why 'Fly'? Because you're small and annoying, and everyone wants you to just _get out_?"

Then, luckily, Remus intervened, because the girl looked like she was about to murder James.  
"Okay, Prongs, that's enough. S-Fly, you're welcome to stay in here. Ignore James."  
"Don't worry. I will ignore him. Thanks...?"  
"It's Remus."  
"Okay. Thanks Remus, but I think I'll find another compartment. I can tell when I'm not wanted. Bye Sirius. Thanks for your help. Hopefully I'll see you two at the feast."

She smiled at Sirius and Remus, and then turned to go, her ponytail swinging like a pendulum.  
"Fly, wait!" Sirius called, and he rushed up to her, walking her outside and then desperately trying to reason with her.  
"Look Fly, don't go. Prongs was being a jerk, Evans probably rejected me again. He's great usually, honest. Go on come back in with us. Moony is great, and Wormy means well, he's just a bit...slower than us, okay? Please."  
"I'd love to Sirius, but I really don't like people making fun of my name, it's none of his business-"  
"I know, love. He didn't mean it, he's just in a bad mood. Food and a good night's sleep and he'll be fine." He cocks his head at her. "Unless you'd rather go and sit with your brother?"  
"Jeepers, no, he'd...don't worry, I mean...great. Fine. I'll sit with you guys. Just don't expect me to be all sunshine and rainbows to your friend Potter."  
"Merlin, of course not. He's definitely not always sunshine and rainbows, but he's great really, a good friend."  
"Whatever you say, Sirius." She shrugged at him, then walked back in, settled down next to Remus, who smiled at her and grinned at Sirius, and opened her book.

Peter frowned at her, and James scowled, but Sirius smiled and sat down next to the window, watching the thick smoke billow from the train as they rushed out of the platform and out into the countryside.

 **Hope you liked it!  
Thanks a million,  
She-who-loves-fanfiction xx  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I will own Harry Potter when Hell freezes over. And maybe not even then.  
A/N: I was feeling nice, so I decided to update again. Two chapters in one day! You guys are lucky! Just don't expect updates this frequently, okay? :)  
Enjoy xx  
**

"So the Sorting Hat will read what house I'm in to everyone?"  
"Yep. Don't worry though, it'll be fine."  
"So everyone will hear?"  
"Uh-huh."  
"And everyone will know?"  
"Yes! Merlin Fly, yes." Sirius sighed. "What's the big deal?"  
Sage looked suddenly pale and started wringing her hands, brushing her hair out of her face impatiently as they waited in the Entrance Hall.

"Are you okay?" Remus probed gently, and she shook her head as if to shake the bad thoughts out of her.  
"Yeah...yeah. I'm okay, I just...I'm not feeling too well. It's probably just that I'm hungry, don't worry about it."  
She didn't look very well, so Sirius moved so that he was a bit closer to her, his hand hovering somewhere near her waist in case she fell. Sirius and Remus exchanged a look behind her back, and Remus looked as confused as Sirius felt.

Behind them were James and Peter, who were laughing and joking without really thinking, without any awareness of what they were laughing about. Peter was confused: _who was this girl, and why did Padfoot care?_ whereas James was feeling guilty: _why did I have to be so rude? Pads seems to like her too. Maybe I should apologise._

So stubborn James Potter walked up to the girl standing next to his best friend, ignored Peter's look of bewilderment and tapped her on the shoulder. Sage flinched away at the contact like he'd hit her with a Stinging Jinx, leaning on Sirius, who looked equally confused and concerned.  
"Oh, sorry Sirius." She straightened herself and then turned to look at the boy who was running his hand through his hair once again. "What do you want, Potter?"  
James took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry about earlier. I was in a really foul mood and I took it out on you. Hopefully you won't hold it against me. No hard feelings?" He smiled sheepishly and held out his hand.  
Sage regarded it for a moment and then shook it firmly, smiling back at him.  
"None at all. I'm sorry too. You know, your hair doesn't look that much like a dead Kneazle. It looks more like a very handsome hedgehog."  
"Thanks Fly." She smiled slightly at his use of the nickname, and walked back to talk to Remus, stretching as she did so.

It was then that her robe rode up her arm, showing a nasty-looking bruise.  
In the shape of a handprint.

James turned to face Sirius, frowning.  
"Do you think everything's okay with her?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Like, that bruise, it looked like someone slapped her, and did you see when I touched her, she flinched away like I was going to hit her?"  
"Yeah, it's weird. And, on the platform, I asked what house she wanted to be in, and she said Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor, but her parents wouldn't like that, she said. And I don't think her parents dropped her off, she came with her brother. Do you know any Dawsons?"  
"Dawson? No. A couple of Dansons though. Maybe you just misheard her."  
"Yeah. Probably." Sirius could feel a pit of unease in his stomach. "Maybe."

The huge doors to the Great Hall banged open, and Professor McGonagall started ushering the students in. Sage stood a little apart from the others, looking as white as a sheet, and Remus peered at her, looking anxious. "Are you sure you're alright, Fly?"  
"Yeah." She muttered faintly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

The tall professor swept over to her, checking a roll of parchment balanced precariously over her arm.  
"Alright, Miss-"  
"It's Sage. Sorry, Professor, please just call me Sage."  
"Very well, Miss Sage. Please follow me into the Hall so you can be Sorted into your House. I'm sure your brother will waiting for you."  
McGonagall sniffed, as if she disapproved, and glanced over to near the Slytherin table, where a large group of Hufflepuffs were now taking their own sweet time to sit down, chatting merrily to each other. Sage gulped, looked over again at the Hufflepuffs, and followed McGonagall into the Hall, the boys watching her as she did.

"Quieten down please. Professor Dumbledore will unfortunately be a little late this evening, however he has asked me to commence the Sorting. Before we bring in the first-years' however, I would like to introduce our new seventh year student, Miss Sage D-"  
"Yeah, that's me." Sage interrupted, then blushed deep red, and McGonagall looked a bit put out.  
"Take a seat then, Miss Sage. You will now be Sorted into your house."

Sage sat down on the three-legged stool , shaking violently, and over at the Gryffindor table, Sirius was on the edge of his seat, craning his neck to try to see her as the Sorting Hat's booming, sly voice filled the Hall.  
"Ahhh...well...yes...Fly, you call yourself now...don't want to dishonour your family...but I can see your pride. Bravery too, yes...and a good mind also...loyal...a bit of cunning, you should follow your heart, girl, it won't do you wrong...yes...could that work?...yes...I've got it...GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor erupted with applause, and Sage stood up, legs trembling and walked shakily over to the red and gold clad table. Sirius beckoned to her, and she smiled weakly and sat down in between him and Remus. "Hey, I told you that you sounded like a Gryffindor!"  
"Yeah..." She stared down at the table, and Sirius thought he saw tears in her eyes for a second.  
Then they were gone, and he shook his head. She was fine, and he would worry about her tomorrow, he decided.  
The first-years' were Sorted relatively quickly, and the seventh years' sat in silence until McGonagall announced the start of the feast.

"Do you want some potatoes, Fly?" James offered her the dish over the table, and she shook her head.  
"No thanks James," Sage smiled at him. "Honestly, I'm fine. I'm not hungry."  
She shook her head as various people offered her bowls, and Sirius frowned.  
"But you said you were hungry."  
"I'm fine now. I promise, Sirius."  
"Okay, but you have to eat pudding. The chocolate cake is heavenly, and the house-elves would be offended if you didn't eat anything."  
"You know what, I will eat. We don't want to offend the house-elves now, do we?" Sage grinned at Sirius, and then grabbed a roll and some chips.  
That made Sirius smile.

They finished off their puddings, (the chocolate cake was amazing) and got up, watching the Prefects shepherd the first years' up to the dormitories.  
"We'll go up to the common room, okay Fly?" Sage nodded at Sirius, and the group walked out of the Hall, up onto the mercifully unmoving staircase, up to the common room, where they were stopped by the Fat Lady, who wanted to coo over another new student.  
"Hello, dearie, what's your name?"  
"I'm Fly, ma'am." She smiled at the portrait, and bobbed a curtsey, and the Fat Lady melted.  
"Oh aren't you a sweet one? Make sure to abide the curfew now, don't let these boys get a nice girl like you into trouble."  
"I won't. Don't worry, ma'am, I'll do my best to keep them out of trouble."  
"Excellent to hear. Have a nice first night here in the tower, and I'll see you in the morning, dearie."  
"Thank you ma'am." With that, the portrait hole swung open without waiting for the password and Sirius ushered her in, before plonking himself down on the comfortable threadbare couch, and patted the seat next to him, so she walked over hesitantly and sat down nervously next to him. Peter and James said goodnight ad went up to the boys' dormitories, so it was just Remus, Sirius and Sage in the common room.

"Oh, Fly, you never did get to see your brother, did you? Do you want to go see him tomorrow?"  
"No...I'm fine...I mean...well...we...my brother and I...we, we don't really get on. It's fine. I'll see him when I see him. I have to go now. I'm tired."  
With that, she waved at them, and practically flew up the stairs.  
"What was that about?" Remus asked Sirius, and Sirius shook his head.  
He really didn't know what was going on with her.

Later that night, when Sirius went to bed, he fell into an uneasy sleep, filled with yelling parents, hand-shaped bruises, and a girl with green glasses.

 **Imperio! You must review! And tell no one that I'm secretly breaking the wizarding law!  
Thanks bunches,  
She-who-loves-fanfiction xx  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own it. Nope.  
A/N: Any ideas who her brother is yet?  
**

Sirius was awake. Ridiculously early.  
Ten minutes to six, to be exact.  
And he was not happy about it.

He stomped down to the common room and sat down on the sofa, grumbling to himself.  
"It is not fair. Stupid sun. Stupid curtains. Stupid Remus. It's not fair! Why did I have to wake up now?! It's too early!"  
"You do know, the first sign of insanity is talking to yourself." A cheerful voice came from behind him, and Sirius grinned.  
"Morning Fly."  
"Morning." Sage came and sat down next to him on the sofa, fully dressed and smiling. "What time's breakfast?"  
"We're not fed here."  
"Yeah. Because that's _exactly_ the same as what my brother told me. When's breakfast, actually?"  
"Not for half an hour."  
"Aww...I'm hungry."  
"How long have you been up?"  
She grinned at him. "Since five."  
Sirius' jaw dropped. "What...how...why would you...how?!"  
"I couldn't sleep, for ages, and I wake up early all the time. Internal alarm clock, I guess."  
"Well, my internal alarm clock must be off, because I can't wake up early...ever."  
"Well, you're up now!"  
"Yeah, well, that's not my fault. I was worried about y...oh my Merlin."  
"What?"  
"I woke up at ten to six! This is not normal! Something must be wrong with me! Am I ill?" He turned to look at her. "Do I look ill?"  
"Not really. A bit shocked. A bit tired. A bit red-faced too. Maybe you're cold?"  
Sirius looked down at what he was wearing, and suddenly became horribly aware of the fact that he was wearing only a pair of boxer shorts.

"Yeah...maybe I should go and get ready."  
"Yeah, you might want to put some clothes on. Professor McGonagall doesn't strike me as the type who would like you going down to breakfast wearing just that. Though the girls probably wouldn't mind." She smiled at him, and a blush rose to her cheeks as he winked.  
"Like what you see, Fly?"  
She grabbed her robe from where it was lying across the arm of the sofa and chucked it at him, so that it covered his torso.  
"Now, that's a sight I could get used to." Giggling, she watched as he flung her robe across the room and ran up the stairs, calling to her:  
"I'll be two minutes!"

Smirking to himself, Sirius grabbed his school shirt and trousers off his bedside cabinet and pulled them on, sprayed some deodorant on himself, quickly brushed his teeth over the sink and ran back down the stairs, yanking a jumper over his head.  
"Three minutes and forty two seconds." Sage looked up at him where he was standing at the bottom of the stairs, panting, and pointed at her watch.  
"It was an impressive time though, Sirius. Your mum would be proud."  
"What?"

Sage suddenly went pale. "I mean...no...hang on...I meant...that's not what I meant...it's just...Merlin, Sirius I..."  
"It's okay, Fly." Sirius walked over and knelt down on the floor. "Me and my family don't...'get along'. It's okay, you didn't know, right?"  
"I, well...sure. Yeah. Wow, I must be tired." She laughed weakly and Sirius frowned.  
 _What? How...and what?  
"_So, when did you say breakfast was?"  
"It's served at half six, but if we left now, we would get there in time for the house-elves to have set it up."  
"Do you want to go now then?"  
"Sure."  
"Don't you want to wait for your friends first?"  
"We can, if you want. Remus said he'd be...look there he is."

Remus came walking down the stairs, yawning.  
"Morning Fly. Hi Sirius."  
"Good morning Remus. We were just about to go down for breakfast, and Sirius said you were ready too. You coming?"  
"Okay then."

So Sirius, Sage and Remus set off down the corridor, occasionally pointing out places to the new girl, who was regarding the castle with wide eyes.  
Of course, they weren't pointing out all of the usual places.  
"So, that's where Prongs first kissed a girl, in third year." Sirius pointed at a broom cupboard.  
"Oh, and there's a secret passage there, Fly." Remus pointed at a humped, one-eyed witch. " Tap it with your wand, say _Dissendium,_ and keep walking until you reach Honeydukes cellar. Quickest way to Hogsmeade that we know of, and useful for hiding from Filch, too."  
"That's where I got my first detention!" Sirius dragged her over to an empty Transfiguration classroom. "Second day of first year."  
"Where are the toilets?"  
"Nearest girls' are on the second floor. Be careful though, Moaning Myrtle likes to haunt there on Thursdays."  
"Only on Thursdays?"  
"Don't ask why, she's quite unusual. For a ghost, that is. There's a fourth year boy who like to catch rats and take them to the-"  
"Moving on!" Remus cried loudly. "That's quite enough Padfoot. Anyway, we're here."

They walked into the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table, Sirius immediately starting to serve himself. Sage looked around, almost nervously, Sirius thought, and then started pouring cereal into her bowl. They sat in silence for a minute, content eating, and then a magnificent screech owl flew into the Great Hall, circling the tables, a pure black envelope grasped in it's talons.  
"That's weird." Remus remarked, waggling his spoon knowledgably. "It's too early for mail."  
Next to him, Sage turned as white as a sheet.

The owl swooped down and landed in front of the terrified girl.  
"Leave it Fly." Sirius muttered; he recognised that envelope, and knew what it meant. "It could be from-"  
He was too late however, because she had ripped the letter from the owls' talons . As she went to pull the seal, she let out a shriek and dropped it, sucking on her fingers angrily. "It burnt me!"  
"You should leave it, Fly. You don't know who sent it."

"No...it's from..my brother! It's probably his idea of a joke."  
"Ok?" Remus sounded sceptical, and Sirius watched closely as she magically tore the envelope and read through the letter's contents quickly. She blinked, frowned, and re-read it, tucking her hair behind her ears. Sirius craned his neck over her shoulder, trying to read it, and caught several words, before being prodded in the side by Remus, who obviously wanted him to stop being nosy.

 _...date...permission...22nd August...unnegotiable...powerful family...company...sincerely..._

Tears glistened in her eyes as she tore the letter, in half, in quarters, and then each of them in half again, and then lit them on fire so they burnt to ashes, blowing on the fire so that it extinguished.

The two boys looked at her in amazement, but Sirius was the first to recover.  
"Uhhh...Fly? Are you okay?"  
"I hate him." She muttered, prodding the ashes with her wand. "I hate him, I hate him, I hate him."  
"Who? Your brother?"  
"No, though he's a git, it's just, I can't believe that they'd- argh! DAMN BIRD!" She hissed at the affronted looking screech owl; it had just pecked her finger, so she was now bleeding.

"I think I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a minute. Thanks for showing me down here."  
"Will you be able to find your way back?" Remus questioned, and Sirius nodded, frowning."  
"Thanks guys, but I'll be fine. I've got a good memory, and the bathroom's like...there." She pointed vaguely to the left and waved at them, before turning and hurrying away.

Sirius swore that he saw her wipe her eyes as she left.

 **Fly would like you to review.  
She would also like to thank Joy for reviewing.  
So, "Thanks Joy. _You_ review. People should follow your example."**

 **I'm glad you (hopefully) liked it,  
She-who-loves-fanfiction (and reviews) xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: If a dream is a wish your heart makes, then isn't it strange that I haven't had dreams about owning the HP universe? :)**

 **A/N: If you like Marauder era stories, check out my story Broken but Beautiful. It's a James/Lily story, I love to write it. Hope you enjoy it, if you read it!  
I apologise in advance if I butcher the Spanish language, I'm learning!  
Still don't know who her brother is?  
**

 **By the way, James is still alive, Joy. :) I think he'd be the kind of person who'd sleep in until someone comes to wake him up. He'll only get up early for Lily!  
Enjoy xx**

"Umm...is the teacher ever going to show up?" Sage prodded Sirius, who was falling asleep at his desk in History of Magic, as the chatter of the class filled the room.  
"Oh, umm, yeah. Probably in a minute."  
"Good!" She mumbled something under her breath, and Sirius only just caught it. "Me duelen los oidos." ( _My_ _ears hurt.)_  
"Hablas a espanol?" ( _You speak Spanish?)_  
The girl looked shocked. "Si. Hablas a espanol?"  
"Yeah. How do you know Spanish?"  
"My...aunt taught me. How do you know Spanish?"  
"Every pureblood learns a foreign language. I had to, apparently, so I chose the language that my mother hates, to make it as entertaining as possible."  
"Yeah...right...great."  
"Are you okay?"

Sage started to speak, but was interrupted by a ghost floating in through the blackboard.  
Understandably, she jumped backwards, and her hand flew immediately to her wand.  
"Hey, it's okay. That's Professor Binns."  
"But...but...he's a _ghost."  
_ "Yep."  
"And he still teaches?"  
"Well, he doesn't so much teach as talk at us and expect us to listen. No one did well in the OWL, expect maybe Remus and Evans."  
"Lily?"  
"Uh-huh."  
"Oh she's great. Really friendly, and helpful. Likes James too. I bet I can get them together by the end of the year."  
"What?"  
"She likes James."  
"Yeah...but...how do you know?"  
"I asked her."  
"There's no way that she said that she did!"  
"No, she didn't, but she does like him. I told her something, and she got all jealous."  
"What did you say?"  
"I said that James was flirting with me."  
"Uhhh...you do know that he wasn't, actually..."  
"Yeah, of course I do. But she doesn't." Sage winked at him, and Sirius fought the urge to laugh at the mischievous look on her face.

Professor Binns started talking, and Sage dipped her quill in ink and started writing about the Troll-Vampire revolution of 3045, or something like that. Sirius didn't exactly _listen_ in History of Magic.

A note landed on the table in front of him, and Sirius read it quickly, then grabbed his quill. ( _Remus **Sirius** James)  
_ _What's going on with Fly?  
 **No idea.  
** Something must be going on, didn't you see her get upset when she got that letter?  
 **Yeah.  
** Lily said she was crying in the toilet earlier.  
What?  
 **WHAT?  
** Yeah, apparently she was really upset abut some letter she got.  
Maybe the one she got a breakfast.  
She got a_ letter?  
 ** _Yeah, she set it on fire at the table. But she was upset?  
_** _She WHAT?!  
_ _Set it on fire.  
 **Why was she upset?  
** I don't know! I heard Lily telling Prewett that Fly was upset because of a letter. Who was it from?  
I don't know.  
 **It was from Death Eaters.  
** WHAT?  
 **The envelope was black. That's their sign.  
** I wonder if she's alright.  
 **Well, I doubt it. She just got a letter from a friend of Voldemort.  
** Write You-Know-Who, Sirius.  
 **Why? It's not like writing his name will summon him.  
** Speak of the devil and thou shall appear.  
_ _Did Lily tell you that James?  
 **Must have. And Voldemort's not the devil. Probably likes to think he is, though.  
** Sirius!  
 **VOLDEMORT VOLDEMORT VOLDEMORT VOLDEMORT VOLDEMORT VOLDEMORT VOLDEMORT  
** Ok, you've made your point mate. Voldemort.  
I give up.  
 **So what do you think's really wrong with-**_

Sirius quickly shoved the note under his arm as Sage poked him.  
"Sirius?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Why is Remus pretending to hit himself in the head with a book?"  
"Well..."  
"And why is he mouthing _Die Sirius die."_  
"Wishful thinking?"  
She laughed. "I understand what he means."  
"Callate Fly." ( _Shut up, Fly.)_

The bell rang, and the students packed up, Professor Binns still rambling on about Bogrid the Blameless and his ballet obsession, and James, Peter, Sirius and Sage climbed up the stairs to the North Tower for Divination. They walked into the room, and Sirius instantly felt sick.

Professor Coniecto was no where to be seen, which wasn't unusual. He liked to make...'different' arrivals, and then preach about how the students weren't gifted with the Inner Eye so couldn't have seen it coming.

"Woo...Divination." James sighed, as they clambered their way over through the stuffy, cluttered little room to a big table at the back, where they all sat down. That is, except Sage. She tilted her head to one side, frowning.  
"What you doing, Fly?" James looked confused as she walked over to a little hidden door that Sirius _couldn't believe_ he hadn't noticed before and opened it.

"Good morning Professor." She smiled politely at the shocked looking man, who did look rather silly, crouching in a cupboard filled with pink tea cups. "I'm new, I'm Fly. Nice to meet you."  
With that, she climbed her way through the other shocked looking NEWT students, and sat down, fishing her textbook out of her bag and laying it on the table expectantly.

"Right...very well...good morning, Miss Fly! As expected, I knew you were coming. The Inner Eye has gifted me with the...err...gift, and it has gifted Miss Fly with it also. Now, class, you finally have an experienced Seer in your midst. Tell me, Miss Fly, how did you know that was where I was waiting for you to come and reveal your potential?"

"You see, Professor, I felt a resonance in my chest when I came into this room, and last night, Saturn was aligned with Jupiter, meaning that I was destined to find a hidden surprise today. That, along with the fact that my tea leaves were in the shape of a crystal ball, meant that I was destined to discover my potential today. I can't believe that I didn't discover it sooner!"

"Not to worry, my dear, you shall discover your true potential in this room. Now, open your books to page 394 and read the chapter on palm-reading. Then, you shall try it out on your partner. I will be coming round, so I expect you to be working hard. You may begin!"

With that, he clapped his hands, and the class broke out into chatter.  
"Are you really a Seer, Fly?" James looked impressed.  
The girl broke out into hysterical laughter.  
"No...no, I...I...I heard, I heard...I heard creaking...from the cupboard."  
Soon, the boys were laughing too, and Sage tried to calm herself down.  
"Okay...he's...hic...he's...he's coming over. Sirius give me your hand. Quick!"  
She grabbed his hand just as Professor Coniecto swooped over, oddly bird-like.  
"How are you doing, Miss Fly, Black?"

"Excellent Professor. I have just been inspecting Sirius' hand, and his...head line, umm..." She quickly scanned the page in front of her. "His head line is detached from his life line, which means that he will be falsely accused of a crime. Oh, and he'll face great sorrow, which...is due to his...love line...which has been cut short. Yeah."

"Excellent, Miss Fly. Could you possibly be related to any Seers? Cassandra the III, perhaps?"  
Her face closed up like a hedgehog disturbed.  
"I'm afraid that I'm sensing that revealing to much information could cloud my aura."  
"Oh...I see. Mr Black, I'm afraid I do not see your book open to the correct page. Perhaps Miss Fly can instruct you on how to open a book. Also, good luck, boys!"

He swept away.  
"Ok, Sirius, so get the book out..." She laughed again, and Peter grinned.  
"Don't worry Sirius, it might seem hard to do at first...You'll learn eventually."

They spent the rest of the lesson impersonating the professor and re-writing the textbook.  
Sirius smiled down at the altered page in his textbook, lying in front of him.

* * *

 _Divination is the art of **boring students to death.  
** Prophecies made by Seers, see page 234, are **relatively useless.  
** Great care must be taken when **in the Divination tower. The professor could be anywhere.  
** Always remember to **bring a pillow. Sleeping is uncomfortable otherwise.  
** Never **underestimate Fly's ability to spout realistic-sounding mumbo-jumbo when the situation calls for it.  
**_ Be _ready for **anything.**_

 **Reviews are welcomed. They also make me review faster.  
Just a tip.  
** **Gracias,  
She-who-loves-fanfiction xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter still does not belong to me. Sadly.  
** **A/N: I'm glad you liked it, TheTaleOfTheSpinster, and *grins evilly*, there will definitely be more cliffhangers. I love cliffhangers!  
Any guesses on who her brother is?  
Enjoy xx**

"Oho! Welcome, seventh years! Come on in, come on in, sit down and open your books to page 32. A good turnout this year, I think. Snape, Black, Potter, Bones, Miss Prewett and Miss Jones. And Miss Evans, of course! Ahh, a new student! Who's this?"

Sirius rolled his eyes as Professor Slughorn peered down at Sage, who was sitting next to Lily.  
"I'm Sage, Professor."  
"Ahh...alright then. One moment." He scanned the parchment in front of him with a confused look on his face, then relaxed slightly.  
"I see. But you're partnered with Miss Evans?"  
"Yes Professor." He peered at her robes and frowned.  
"And a Gryffindor? That must have come as a bit of a shock."  
"Not exactly." Her voice was calm, but there was a steely look in her eyes. "I think it makes perfect sense actually, Professor."

He shook his head almost sorrowfully, and mumbled something beneath his breath, so quiet Sirius barely caught it.  
"Shame...excellent lineage too..." Sage clenched her jaw, and balled her fists under the table.  
Sensing her possible outburst, Remus lunged forwards and knocked an empty glass vial off the table, causing a loud 'crash', and distracting Slughorn. Sage flashed them a small, grateful smile and shook her head.

"Sorry Professor. Uhhh...hand slipped."  
"No matter, my dear boy, no matter. Now we better get started, this potion takes an hour to brew. Can anyone tell me what we're making today?"  
"The Draught of Living Death, sir?"  
"That's quite right, Miss Evans. The Draught of Living Death. Notoriously difficult to make, and disastrous should you get it wrong. Perfect for a NEWT class. All ingredients are in the cupboard. Off you go!"

He looked at them expectantly, and there was a bustle of movement as half the class got up to get their ingredients.  
"Remind me why we're taking this subject again?" Sirius groaned as he burnt his finger lighting the stove.  
"Because you need it to be an Auror, remember?" James muttered as he shredded his roots.

"But even so..." Sirius ran his hand through his hair, "It's not going to be useful when I'm an Auror, is it? I'm not going to be dueling some Death Eater, and then go, I'm ever so sorry, Bellatrix dearest, I just have to go and brew the Draught of Living Death to poison you with!"

James laughed.  
"Yeah, but if someone's hurt, you'll need to be able to heal them. Potions aren't all pointless, brewing one could save someone's life."  
Sirius frowned at his friend. "Lily said that, didn't she?"  
The boy next to him flushed slightly. "Yeah. Last week. But the point still stands! So you _are_ going to help me make this potion!"  
"But-" Sirius grinned as Sage walked over to the store cupboard. "Actually, what do we need?"  
"Powdered moonstone...I've got the roots...umm...don't know what that is...maybe some mint?"  
"Mint?"  
"Well, Slughorn always gushes when Lily uses it, so we could chuck some in. It might help our grade!"  
"Sure...whatever...mint...ok, I'm getting it."

He swerved around the cluttered tables and reached the store cupboard, accidentally on purpose bumping into Sage's arm.  
"Oh...sorry Fly."  
"Sirius, if you want to talk to me, we can talk later. You don't have to bump into me."  
"Ok then. Later. Common room?"  
"Ummm...sure. I'll see you later."  
"Great. See you in a bit."  
"Oh, Sirius?"  
"Yeah?"  
"I'd go back over to James. Your potion has caught fire, and I reckon he's going to start planning your slow death anytime soon."  
Sirius laughed, and she did too, and Sirius walked quickly back over to the desk, where James was hastily trying to put out the fire.  
"Thank Merlin! Finished flirting with Fly, have we? I need those moonstones."  
"Where?"  
"Just shove some in!"

The two boys, starting to panic, did the stupidest thing possible.  
Just started throwing everything into the cauldron.

Sirius spooned in some moonstone, and then added a few more spoonful's, just to be sure it was enough.  
James dropped in practically a whole mint plant, and then added some powdered mint, because "you can never have too much mint, Sirius!" Across the room, Lily and Sage were finished, their potion a perfect lilac, and Slughorn was examining some other potions on the other side of the dungeon. The boys' potion was currently acid green, and spitting out sprigs of...

"Is that...the mint?"  
"Maybe...Uhhh...Lily!?"  
"What Potter?"  
"Please stop the potion from killing us!"  
"What's wrong with it?"  
"I don't know! We added loads of mint!"  
"What? Why?"  
"Because it...mint is cool!"  
"Yeah, but that's not the point! Mint counter-acts the moonstone's properties! If you had to add a herb, you should have added lavender!"  
"But lavender is blehhh!"  
"That's not the...argghhh! I give up. Fail Potions. I don't care."

"James!"  
"Yes Fly?"  
"Add a teaspoon of syrup of hellebore. It should stop the solids from forming."  
"What?"  
"Add the hellebore! Now!"  
"Alright...alright, keep your hair on...it's turned purple!"  
"Good. Now follow the instructions from step six! And don't add anymore mint!"  
Fly grinned at their crestfallen faces, and turned back to talk to Lily, leaving Sirius and James more than a little confused.

"So what does step six say?"  
"Umm...not a clue. It just says something like stir until it reaches desired colour..."  
"But what is the desired colour, Prongs?!"  
"I don't know!"  
"So what kind of instructions are these? No even telling us the desired colour!"  
"I like red, so let's make it red!"  
"No...hang on, mate...look, it's supposed to be lilac."  
"Uhhh...I'll just use a Colour-Changing Charm!"  
"Genius!"  
"That's why we're friends, Pads. I'm a genius, and you are...less so."  
"Am not!"  
"Are too!"  
"Am not!"  
"Are t-"

"Boys! Boys! I expect you to work cooperatively from now on. What stage are you at for your potion? Nearly at the brewing stage?"  
Professor Slughorn had crept up behind them while they were arguing. Hooray.  
"Ummm...sure Professor. Just a couple more minutes."  
"Good. I'm expecting a good potion from you boys. You've practically cleared my store cupboard!"  
"It will be good, don't worry. We are very confident, aren't we Sirius?" He elbowed his friend.  
"Yeah...ouch! Yeah, we are...we are...sure."  
"Excellent, excellent. Keep up the good work!"  
"We will."

He waddled away to talk to Lily and Sage, and Sirius breathed a sigh of relief.  
"Ok James, go ahead with your spell. I don't think we can get away with 'just a few more minutes' any longer."  
"Fine." James waved his wand and muttered a charm, and the potion turned the perfect shade of purple.  
"Thank Merlin! We're saved!"  
"Ok, now we can just sit here and pretend that it's brewing."  
"Great."

The two boys pulled out their stools and sat down, both looking over to where the two girls sat, talking. Suddenly, Lily put her arm around Sage, who looked dangerously close to tears. Sirius and James exchanged a worried look, and Sirius looked over at Lily, who shrugged at him as she hugged the smaller girl. Sage got up and asked Slughorn something, and then she walked out of the room, puling her robes tighter around her.

"Lily!"  
"What is it, Black?"  
"What's wrong with Fly?"  
"I don't know." She pushed her hair out of her face  
"We were talking about our families, and then she got all upset. I asked what was wrong and she said she was fine, but she obviously wasn't. She's gone to the bathroom now. Do you two know why she got upset?"  
"No." The boys said in unison, and she pointed over at the table where Remus was sitting.  
"You could ask Remus."  
"What? Why?"  
"He was looking after her at lunch today."  
"Really? Why?"  
"She was confused, I think. You should ask him if she seemed ok then."  
"I will."

As she went back to sit down, Sirius felt a funny feeling. It wasn't a good feeling, he knew that, and it also included imagining punching Remus.  
So not a good feeling at all.

 **Obrigada,  
She-who-loves-fanfiction xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: It's not mine. That's all there is to it. Not mine.  
A/N: I'm glad you like it TheTaleOfTheSpinster! You should definitely write fanfiction, if you have a lot of ideas (and patience)!**

"Remus! Hey, mate," Sirius caught up to his friend, who was walking with Peter.  
"Hi Sirius. How can I help?"  
"Do you know why Fly's upset? She left early and-"  
"Yeah, I saw. Hmm...maybe she was a bit overwhelmed? Slughorn was being a bit harsh, I suppose. Hopefully she'll come to dinner."  
"Hopefully." Remus still looked thoughtful as they walked into the Great Hall and took their usual places at the Gryffindor table.

A few minutes later, Sirius sighed with relief as Sage walked into the Hall and slid into a spot in between Remus and Lily.  
"Are you alright, Fly?"  
"Yeah, I'm great thanks Lily."  
"Sure?"  
"Yep. Promise." She smiled at them and then picked up the potatoes, starting to serve herself.

"So. How was Divination?" Remus inquired, picking up his goblet.  
"Entertaining." James grinned at Sirius, and Peter sat up eagerly.  
"Fly surprised Professor Coniecto, and now he thinks she's a Seer!"  
"Really?" Remus sits back, eyebrows raised. "Spouted a bunch of nonsense, I bet."  
"Yep." Sage looked at him. "Jupiter aligned with Mars, or something like that, and I felt a resonance in my chest when I entered."  
"Sure." Remus laughed. "And I saw a flying pig."

To everyone's immense surprise, Sage pointed her wand at an empty plate on the table, and it turned into a pig. Flicking her wand, the pig rose in the air, flew past the table and turned back into a plate, clattering to the floor. There was a moment of silence, then she raised her eyebrows. "You were saying?"  
James bit his lip and looked pointedly at the floor as Sirius tried his best not to laugh. At last, it was Lily who broke the silence.  
"What spell was that? It looks useful."  
"What? If you ever have to prove me wrong again?" Remus had an amused look on his face.  
"More like proving Potter here wrong. So what is it?"  
Sage winked at her. "Trade secret."  
Lily pouted.  
"I'll tell you later, Lily. Don't worry."

After they finished eating, Remus and Sage both stood up at the same time, and looked at each other, evidently embarrassed.  
"I was just about to go to the library." Remus said, cocking his head at her.  
"Oh, yeah, I'll come if that's alright. I want to get the Potions homework out of the way."  
He nodded, and the two of them clambered over the bench and out of the Hall, turning left to go to the library.

"So, what did Remus say?"  
"Huh?"  
"About Fly?" Lily sighed impatiently. "Did he know why she was upset?"  
"Oh, yeah. He...umm... he said he didn't know, but he thought it might be Slughorn."  
"Really? What did he do?"  
"Insulted her."  
"Now, Sirius, I don't think that he would-"  
"Just because you're his little Potions princess-"  
"Ok, ok, that's enough." James cut across them, looking firm. "Sirius, it's not Lily's fault that Fly got upset. Okay?"  
"Yeah, but-"  
"Sirius!"  
"Fine."

There was a minute of silence, and the tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife.  
"I'm sorry Evans."  
"That's quite alright." Lily nodded graciously, and then stood up. "I think I'll go down to the common room."  
"See you later." James smiled sheepishly, and to his immense surprise, Lily smiled back.  
"Yeah, see you later, Potter."

When James and Sirius had finally finished, they started to walk down to the common room, then James threw his arm out, stopping Sirius in his tracks. "I need to go to the library."  
"Really? I don't think I've seen you in the library, ever!"  
"I need to borrow Remus' History of Magic notes."  
"Fair enough."

As they reached the entrance to the library, Sirius scanned the area for familiar faces, and James pointed over to the corner by the window, where their friends were sitting. They'd stolen the comfortable cushioned bench, and Remus had a book in his lap, his back up against the window. Sage, however, was leaning up against Remus' legs, sitting sideways on the bench, shoes kicked off, curled up, a pile of notes in her lap.

The two boys approached, and Remus sat up slightly, a slightly guilty look on his face, but Sage seemed unconcerned.  
"Hiya!"  
"Hey Fly. Uh, Remus-"  
"Let me guess, you want my notes from History of Magic."  
"Well..."  
"They're on the table."  
"Thanks mate."  
"I want them back!" Remus said warningly, and James saluted.  
"Yes, sir!"

Sage laughed and stood up, stretching. "Thanks for your help Remus."  
"It was my pleasure, Fly."  
"You going to come back to the common room with us?"  
"I'll just pack up. Don't wait for me, go on. I'll only be a minute."  
"Ok, see you in a bit."

She piled all of her stuff into her bag, and walked out with Sirius, who cleared his throat.  
"So...did you get your homework done?"  
"Yeah, Remus is great. He was so helpful!"  
"That's Remus. Always helpful." Sirius sounded bitter, and Sage frowned.  
"Are you okay?"  
"I'm fine."  
"Sure?"  
"Yep. I'm great. Promise."  
"So, you wanted to talk to me?"  
"Yeah..."  
"So?"  
"What?"  
"What do you want to talk to me about?"  
"Oh...umm...it's just...we're worried about you." He blurted out, and then blushed slightly, waiting for her answer.

"Oh...Merlin...I appreciate it, but trust me, I'm not worth worrying about."  
"You are! You're our friend, and we're worried about you! And we wanted to know if there was anything we could do."  
"Oh, Sirius...it's...argh! It's so hard! I just...I can't. I'm sorry. There's nothing you guys can do."  
"Ok." Sirius was burning with curiosity, but tried his best to contain it.

They reached the common room, and she turned to him.  
"Sirius, thank you."  
"For what?"  
"For caring."  
"We're here for you, ok? We're here, and if you ever want to talk, we're ready to listen. Trust me, I know a lot about secrets, and they start to eat you up after a while. Don't keep it all bottled up, yeah, or you might explode."  
"Boom."  
"Yeah, boom. I'm guessing it's something about your home, or your family, but you have to let them in. They usually want to help, and it doesn't pay to push your parents away. Believe me."  
Sage let out a bitter laugh. "My parents are part of the problem."  
Sirius' frown deepened. "Another thing I know a lot about."  
"Sirius I would tell you but...I...I can't...he'd...he won't let me...I can't..."  
"Who is he? Your brother?"  
"No, well, yes, and them too, and him and all of them, and you and I just...can't."  
She ran her hand through her hair, and Sirius had never seen her this agitated before.

"I think I'm going to go in now."  
"Why do you do that?!"  
"Do what?"  
"Get so close to spilling and then..."  
"I don't have to say if I don't want to Sirius."  
"I know that, it's just...let me help! We can help, and you just won't let us! How can we be friends when you...argh!"  
Sirius stepped forwards to look at her, and she stepped backwards, a frightened look on her face.  
The nest time Sirius spoke, it was in a quiet voice, and his face was unreadable.

"You look scared. Why do you look scared?"  
She shook her head, trying to compose herself, but you couldn't mistake the fear in her eyes.  
"Why? You know I wouldn't touch you, so what is it? Why are you scared?"  
"Sirius-"  
"Did it remind you of someone? Or something? What was it? What was it that made you so scared?"  
Silence.  
"And that time on the platform. You looked terrified when you first saw me too. Why? You haven't gone to see your brother since you got here. Why? Why were you so scared? What is it, Fly? What is it?"

Sage pressed herself up against the wall, looking more than ever like she wanted to disappear and Sirius run his hand through his hair, a habit he'd picked up from James. "Well?"

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, and then Remus came round the corner, lugging some books.  
"Hey guys, I...what's going on?" He looked at Sirius who was breathing heavily, and Sage, who was still leaning against the wall. She regained her composure first, and stood up straight, blinking quickly.

"Nothing. Sirius and I...were...just talking. Shall we go in?" She gestured towards the portrait where the Fat Lady sat, uncharacteristically quiet. "Ok..." Remus nodded at her, and she turned to the portrait.  
"Ghosts." The portrait swung open, and Sage walked in.

Without stopping, she kept walking and went up the stairs to the dorms, leaving a confused looking Remus and a guilty looking Sirius behind her.

 **Reviews are appreciated!  
Hope you liked it,  
** **She-who-loves-fanfiction xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I deeply envy J.K Rowling...  
Please read and review!  
Enjoy xx  
**

"Hey," Sirius sat down next Sage on the bench outside the common room tentatively, full from dinner, the next day.  
"Hi," She said quietly, and Sirius peered down at what she was looking at; a crumpled photograph, faded with age.  
"What's that?"  
"A photograph," She took a deep breath. "It's me when I was thirteen."

She passed the photo over to Sirius, who brought it up to the light.  
It showed a small girl with glasses and familiar brown hair, tied up in a ponytail, Sage, and a boy with blonde hair and pale blue eyes. They were both laughing, and the boy had his arm around Sage, who had radiant smile on her face. Sirius felt a pang of jealousy, and then forced it down.  
 _This isn't about your feelings, it is about helping her and finding out what the hell is going on._

"Who's that?" He pointed at the boy in the picture, and Sage smiled a little wistfully.  
"That's Luke."  
"Luke?"  
"He was my best friend."  
"Was?" Sirius probed her gently.  
"Yeah. He's dead now."  
"I'm sorry."  
"It's not your fault."  
"Yeah, but I'm sorry that he's dead."  
"Me too."  
"What was he like? Luke, I mean."  
She smiled and her eyes glazed over slightly, like she was looking at something far away.

"He was great. Really great. We met when I was twelve, and he was thirteen, and we were inseparable. He was a wizard too, you know, but a wizard we knew tutored him, like... Anyway, he was Muggle-born, and he never let it bother him, even though where we lived was full of pureblood bigotry but... one night last year they found him in an alley..."  
Sage stopped, voice catching in her throat, and Sirius could tell that she was on the brink of tears, but she swallowed them back.  
"He was murdered with the Killing Curse, you know, _Avada Kedrava,"_ She shuddered.  
"Anyway, his family sent an owl to the Ministry and asked for an inquiry, but they said that there was no evidence so basically it was a waste of their time."  
"What?!"  
"I know. When I found out...I don't know how I...I hated them. All of them."  
"And you should have. What happened to him was horrible."  
" _Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa_ ," Sage whispered under her breath and Sirius shook his head frantically.  
"No! No, it's not your fault, Fly."  
"Except it is!"  
"How is it your fault that he was killed?"  
"They never would have noticed him if not for me, so it's my fault. I've made my peace with it, and I've accepted it."  
"Luke wouldn't want you to blame yourself, would he?"  
"No, he wouldn't, but he also wouldn't want me to lie to myself."

Sirius didn't know what to say to that, so they sat for a minute in thoughtful silence, until Sage spoke.  
"He was the one who gave me the nickname."  
"Fly? The nickname, I mean."  
"Yep. We were fourteen, and his tutor was teaching us...I mean, him, teaching him how to summon a Patronus. His was a big black dog, and mine was a butterfly, so... Fly."  
Sirius was pretty sure that his heart had stopped. _A big black dog?_  
"It's cute."  
"Yeah," She grinned. "That's what he said."  
"So why Fly?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Why Fly, and not Sage?"  
"I'm guessing you wouldn't believe me if I told you I just didn't like my name?"  
"You guessed right," They both laughed, and Sage sobered first.  
"Well...ok, so you already know that I don't really get on with my parents. It's kind of like, they gave me that name, so..."  
"So you don't want to associate with them?"  
"I guess not."

There was another minute of silence.  
"I've never been a fan of my name either, really."  
"Sirius," Sage elongated the word, tasting it. "Sirius Black. The brightest star in the sky, right?"  
"Uh-huh. It kind of made my feel destined to be a prat."  
"Why?"  
"Because I'm named after my _dear_ father, and his father. Sirius Orion Black the Third."  
"Third time lucky, wasn't it?" She scrunched her face up, and then relaxed, smiling.  
"I suppose so."

More silence.  
"Look, Fly-"  
"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!"  
"What have you done now?"  
Sirius groaned, "Not got a clue."  
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"  
"Oh crap," Sirius jumped to his feet, and grabbed Sage's hand. "Come on, quick, before he reaches us!"  
"Sirius, what-"  
"Come on!"

He dragged her round the corner, and they broke into a run, sprinting through the corridor, bumping into people and in Sage's case, hurriedly apologising. They ran across the bridge and burst out of the heavy oak door into the grounds, where they collapsed, panting.  
"What...why...what _was that for_?" Sage demanded, breathing heavily.  
"James," Sirius wheezed, by way of explanation.  
"But..why...what...why are we running away from _James_?"  
"I promised him that I'd do the Defence project with him after dinner. And I didn't."  
"The one that's due tomorrow?"  
"Uh-huh."  
"Why? Did you forget?"  
"No. I just couldn't be bothered. Hey, there's no chance that that you might have not have finished yours yet, so that I can pretend that we were talking about the project, and not, you know, deep secrets, right?"  
"Sorry Sirius, Lily and I finished ours the night it was set."  
"No way you did! Go on then, what's the best way to get rid of a Lethifold?"  
"Light. Like the Devil's Snare, Lethifolds react to bright light. Also, a strong Patronus can repel it, like with Dementors."  
"Man, I wish I knew if that was right. Clever-clogs."  
"SIRIUS BLACK!"  
"Oh come on, don't make me run again-SIRIUS!"

* * *

"I can't believe that you skipped doing our project to flirt with some girl!"  
James was furious.  
"I am not _flirting,_ I am just trying to work out what's going with her!"  
Sirius was equally so.  
" _Sure_ Sirius, because you're known for talking to girls without flirting, just because you're curious. _Sure._ "  
"I talk to Evans without flirting!"  
"Yeah, well that's just because she'd hex you into next week if you tried flirting with her."

Then Remus decided to get in on the action.  
"Not to mention the fact that James would kill you if you did."  
"Yeah, _thanks_ Remus."  
"You're very welcome. Now, shut up, and instead of wasting time arguing about the project, maybe actually _do_ the project. So that you don't get detention..."  
"I don't care if I get detention."  
"Well, I do care, because I was hoping that you two'd accompany me as it's full moon tomorrow night, but no, it's _fine,_ get yourselves detention!"

The tension in the boys' dormitory could be cut with a knife.

"Look, mate, we're sorry." Sirius started, a rarely heard apologetic note to his voice.  
"Yeah, we were being idiots. We won't bail you out, I promise."  
"Good," You could hear the smile in Remus' voice. "Do you need to borrow my notes?"  
"Well..." Sirius sounded hesitant. "We don't _need_ to, but..."  
"You want to. They're on the table."  
"Thanks mate."

"Okay...so what is it about again?" James questioned Sirius, who was flipping through a textbook frantically.  
"Lethifolds and Dementors...that's what McGonagall said. Especially Lethifolds."  
"Urghh...Dementors. Horrible things. Urghh... I hate them."  
"I don't think anyone exactly _likes_ them, mate."  
"SIRIUS-"

"Uh, is this a bad time?"  
Sirius turned around so fast that his neck cricked, and he winced, rubbing his neck.  
Sage was standing in the doorway, tie loose around her neck, hair messy and glasses crooked, and Sirius felt the urge to straighten them.  
"Fly!" Remus beamed, "No, it's fine. They're just stressing about the project due tomorrow."  
"Oh yeah," She grinned, eyes twinkling behind her glasses. "Catch him eventually, did you James?"  
"Yeah, well, I have a bone to pick with you, Fly-"  
"Let me guess, he was too busy flirting to do the project. Let me tell you, he was testing my knowledge on Lethifolds. He knows a lot, actually."  
"Really?" James sounded skeptical.  
Sirius was pretty sure he was blushing.  
"Yep. Smart one, he is." She winked at Sirius.  
Sirius was definitely blushing.  
"Ahh well, you know Sirius, he'll flirt with any girl he comes across."  
Any redder, and they would start to think Sirius was a tomato.  
"I do NOT." Sirius desperately tried to regain some of his dignity, but it was long gone.  
"Sure you don't," Sage winked again, and Sirius began mentally trying to remember how to cast the Killing Curse on oneself.

"Anyway, Remus, can I borrow that book you were talking about?"  
She looked at him meaningfully.  
"Oh..." Remus blushed, joining Sirius in the tomato lookalike club, or the TLC to it's members.  
"Remember?" She raised her eyebrows, and Remus nodded hurriedly.  
"Oh, yeah. Let's go then."

He got up, Sage waved at James and Sirius, and they both left.  
"Is it just me, or is something going on with them?"

Peter, who had remained mercifully silent up until now, was sitting up, a confused look on hs face as he faced his friends.  
"Yeah." Sirius nodded. "Something is most definitely going on, and I'm going to find out."

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	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I** ** _do_** **like writing about it!  
Enjoy xx**

The next morning dawned bright and early, and all of the windows in the castle were hurriedly thrown open, in the hopes of catching a breeze. It was stiflingly hot for September, and the students were moaning as they climbed the twisting spiral up the Divination classroom.  
"It's going to be sooooo hot!"  
"I know, right, and he probably won't even open the windows."  
"Yeah, and he'll leave that blasted fire lit all lesson! We're going to roast alive in there."

Sirius was grumbling at the thought, but Sage was silent, and James turned to her, frowning.  
"You alright? You haven't spoken at all really today."  
"Oh I'm fine," The smile on her face agreed. "Great, actually."

Curious, Sirius hung back slightly so that he was walking just in front of her, and spoke.  
"What's got you so happy, then?"  
She blushed violently.  
"Nothing…it's just…umm…I kissed Remus."  
"You _what_?"  
"I kissed Remus."  
" _When?"  
_ "Last night."  
"But you…you…you and _Remus_?"  
"Yeah. Got a problem with that?"  
She was back to joking again, grinning, but Sirius was pretty sure that he _did_ have a problem with it.  
He just wasn't sure why.

"Sirius? Hello? Earth to Sirius?"  
"Yes, hello, it's nothing, it's just…oh…"  
"Are you okay?"  
She looked concerned now.  
"Yeah, I'm just…hot. Just hot."  
"What, temperature-wise, or…?" She winked, and Sirius felt himself blushing once again.  
 _What was it about her that always made him blush?_

"Sure. Yeah, whatever. Oh look, we're going into Divination."  
With that, he bustled past her and into the boiling classroom, leaving her standing, confused, on the step.

* * *

"So, he didn't tell us? Like, he _actually_ didn't tell us?"  
"Apparently."  
James was annoyed.  
"But why wouldn't he tell us?"  
"I don't know, maybe he was embarrassed, or something."  
"Of what? OK, maybe he rarely kisses girls, but you say if you've kissed someone, so the same rule should apply, should it not?"  
"I don't know, ask Peter."

None of the boys, except Remus, were very happy. Peter was whining that he was hot, James was annoyed that Remus hadn't been honest, and Sirius was just annoyed.  
You know, for no reason at all.

They were approaching the Great Hall for lunch, and Remus was already sitting down, chatting animatedly with Lily, the wide smile on his face mirroring Sage's.  
"Hello!" Lily waved at Sage and Sage waved back, sitting down next to Remus, who blushed as their hands brushed.  
"Hi Lils."  
"How was Divination?"  
"Hot. Very, very hot."  
"Why, was Potter there?"  
They both smiled, and James' eyes looked like they were about to fall out of his head.

Sage and Remus both reached for the rolls at the same time, and then both blushed as they bumped hands.  
"Oh for Merlin's sake, snog already." Peter grumbled, and they both looked stricken; Remus blushed and started to stammer:  
"I…uh…what are you…I mean…we didn't…" whereas Sage just gave Sirius her death glare.

Lily, however, squealed.  
"Did you…?"  
"Maybe." Remus growled, and Lily squealed again.  
"Fly! That's great!"  
"Chill Lily, it's not like we're getting married."  
They laughed, with the exception of James, who was still feeling betrayed, and Sirius, who was just not feeling in a particularly laughy mood.

"So when's your birthday again, Peter?"  
Sage pulled Peter into conversation, giving James the perfect time to make Remus feel guilty.  
"Oh, it's funny, I kissed someone yesterday, and I told you!"

Remus rolled his eyes and sighed, but Lily across the table, went red, then white, then red again, and Sage abruptly stopped talking to Peter.  
"Yes, that's wonderful, really nice of your mother. Sorry, excuse me for a minute."  
She leaned to whisper something in an obviously upset Lily's ear, and then they both stood up and left the Hall without eating. It was only as they passed James that Sage did anything; she punched James hard on the arm, so that he yelped and cried out.  
"What was that for!?"  
No answer.

"You seriously don't know what's going on, James?"  
"What's, Mr I-snog-girls-and-don't-tell-my-best-friends?"  
"First of, I didn't snog her properly, we just kissed, and I haven't had the chance to tell you, and secondly, what the _hell_ was that about?"  
"What was what about?"  
"Saying that you kissed someone else."  
"It was just…"  
"Well, congratulations, mate. You've just upset the _only_ girls in Hogwarts who talk to us like we are normal people."  
"Look, I don't get what I've done wrong-"  
"Lily _fancies_ you!" Remus hissed, and James leaned back, looking alarmed.  
"Lily what?"  
"She fancies you, Lily Evans fancies you, and if you don't stop being a complete _prat,_ she will give up and go out with someone like, I don't know, Diggory!"  
"She can't go out with Diggory!"  
"I _know that,_ that's why you need to go and apologise as soon as humanely possible, or I will help them hex you into oblivion. OKAY?"  
"But…she _fancies_ me? Are you sure?"  
"James, you may need glasses, but you seriously can't be _that_ blind!"  
"And I just said that I kissed someone else…oh Merlin. I'm an idiot. I'm worse than Snivellus."  
"OK, I wouldn't go that far, but you do need to make it clear that you like her, mate."  
Sirius cut in, thinking hard. "Maybe she could overhear you telling me?"

"That's a good idea…come on, where would they have gone?"  
"The library." Remus said immediately. "Sage loves the library, and books calm Lily down."  
"Let's go then."

Peter stayed behind, he was hungry, and the rest of them set off for the library, eating crisps at they went. When they reached the library entrance, Remus stopped them.  
"OK, so I'll go in first, just see if they're in here."  
"Why do you have to go?"  
"Because they're least likely to punch me."

Neither of them wanting to be punched, James and Sirius wisely stayed put.  
A few minutes later, Remus came out, smiling.  
"They're in the back corner. If we go in and stand in front of _that_ bookcase, they'll be able to hear us but not see us, and vice versa."  
"Great."

The boys walked past a surprised Madam Pince and a clever looking group of Ravenclaws, and then stopped in front of the afore-mentioned bookcase.  
"It's a shame, I thought they'd be here."  
Sirius decided to kick off the improvisation with a throwaway comment, and James grimaced before answering him.  
"I know, Lily usually comes here when she's upset about something, but I can't see her, so maybe she and Fly went to the common room?"  
"Maybe."

Remus nodded in encouragement, and they all pulled their chairs out, the legs making a loud scraping sound that made Madam Pince sniff in disapproval.  
"I don't know how I do it! I just mess it up, every time! Lily probably thinks I couldn't care less about her, but I've actually fancied her for _ages."  
_ A tiny gasp was just audible from behind the bookcase, and Sirius could imagine Lily gasping and Sage smiling as she realised what the boys were doing.

"And Fly must know too, but then girls tell each other _everything._ Unlike us, apparently."  
James was now glaring at Remus, and Sirius tried his hardest not to laugh.  
"You're _still_ going on about that, aren't you? If you're so desperate to hear the details of me snogging, I'll kiss you myself. Maybe then you'll pick up some technique!"

If looks could kill, Remus would be lying dead on the floor, and Sirius was now sniggering into his robes, laughing harder as he heard Fly giggling from behind the bookcase.  
"I'll have you know that my kissing is perfectly satisfactory!"  
"Who told you that, your mum?"

Sirius was now laughing unashamedly, and even James and Remus were smiling slightly.  
"I bet Lily would say that my kissing is perfectly good!"  
"Why don't you kiss her then, instead of going on at me?"  
"Well she's not here, is she?"  
"I know, it's _such_ a shame, isn't it? We'd better go to the common room and see if they're there."

Sirius was laughing too hard to agree with him, so they got up and left the library, laughing the whole way.

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	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I** ** _do_** **like writing about it!  
Enjoy xx**

"That was a really decent thing you guys did earlier."  
Sage plonked herself down on the sofa next to Remus, and he threw his arm around her shoulder, winced, and took it off again.  
"Thanks Fly." James grinned at her and she raised her eyebrows.  
"Now, was what you said true?"  
"Was what true?"  
"The bit about you liking Lily!"  
"Well, yeah, she's great and I _have_ been asking her out since fifth year, but..."  
"But what? If you like her, then stop being a git and ask her out!"  
"She hates me!"  
" _Sure._ She doesn't hate you, she fancies you like mad and she's being an idiot."  
"She is _not_!" James demanded hotly, and Sage grinned at him.  
"Then ask her out!"  
"What if she says no?"  
"Then's she's being stupid, not you. But she won't say no, trust me."  
"Fine, I'll ask her out tomorrow."  
"Good. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to talk to Lily."

She blew a kiss to Remus, who blushed, and waved at them before skipping over to talk to Lily next to the fire.  
"Ooooh, you've got yourself a girl, Moony!"  
"I don't think so."  
"Oh, she's all over you..."  
"Are you going to ask her to Hogsmeade?"  
Peter looked questioningly at Remus, who shook his head.  
"Why not?"  
"I'll have to tell her about my...'condition' at some point, and she won't want to go out with me after that."  
"How do you know? Hey," James called over to Sage. "Fly, come over here a sec, will you?  
" _James!"_ Remus hissed, looking frantic. "What the _hell_ are you doing?"  
James blatantly ignored him.  
"Yes? What is it?"  
"What do you think of werewolves?"  
"What? Why?"  
"It's just...we heard something on the radio about a new order their passing...to ban werewolves in magical schools."  
It sounded convincing, and Sirius turned to look at James, confused. Sage looked at James incredulously.

"Well that's stupid! That's like...that's like...I don't know what it's like, but it's ridiculous! Werewolves are still people, they've just got a...a problem. A furry problem. Where did you hear this, again?"  
"Uh, nowhere." James smiled at her nervously, and she shook her head teasingly before returning to talk to Lily.  
"There we go."  
James sat back with a triumphant look on his face.  
Remus stood and stormed up the stairs to the dormitory.  
"What's got his wand in a knot?" Peter asked, puzzled, and Sirius shrugged.  
He really didn't know what was going on at the moment.

* * *

"Morning Fly."  
Sage looked up at Sirius from her breakfast.  
"Morning. Is Remus OK? He ignored me this morning, and that's not like him."  
Sirius couldn't exactly tell her that the full moon was tonight and therefore Remus would be feeling terrible.  
"Oh, I don't think he's feeling very well."  
"OK."  
She didn't look reassured, and Sirius made a mental note to come up with a better excuse later.

Sage stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder.  
"Are you coming? Oh, sorry, you'll want breakfast."  
"No, it's fine, I got some stuff from the kitchens."  
They set off down the corridor, chatting mindlessly, and then they bumped into some people that they didn't exactly _want_ to see.  
"Malfoy." Sirius snarled, and the snooty-looking boy in front of them sneered, his friends smirking.  
"Black. Oh, and _Sage._ "  
"Don't call me that!" The smaller girl spat, eyes burning with hatred. "I don't go by that anymore."  
"My, my, _your_ mother wouldn't be pleased to hear that. I could always... _write_ to her."  
"You wouldn't."  
Sirius looked at the two of them, exceedingly confused.  
"Oh, I would. And what's this? Conversing with _Black_ , no less. Blood-traitors, the lot of you."  
"Shut up."  
Sage's voice was quiet, and deadly, and Sirius knew that Malfoy needed to back off before he lost several vital parts of his anatomy.  
"What did you say to me?"  
"I told you to _shut up_. And I will say it again. _Shut up!_ What would _your_ father think of you, huh? Threatened by a little _girl_?"

The blonde boy's wand was in his hand before Sirius could blink, and soon both of them had their wands out, pointed threateningly at the Slytherins.  
Sage laughed, but it was a mirthless, empty laugh.  
"You wouldn't dare."  
"Oh, I definitely would."  
"Your mother wouldn't approve of it, would she?"  
"Hey!" Sirius cut in before Malfoy could retort. "Malfoy, back off!"  
"Ah, but which one?"  
"Stop it!" Sage hissed, and Malfoy laughed cruelly.  
"So you haven't told him yet? Well, this _will_ be fun..."

With that, Sage disarmed the Slytherin, catching his wand in her free hand. The rest of the boys yelled in outrage, and Sage grabbed Sirius's hand, chucking the stolen wand as far away from her as she could.  
"Run!"  
They did just that, albeit reluctantly, in Sirius' case.  
As they reached the end of the corridor, they ducked inside an empty classroom, hearts pounding, wands clutched tightly in their sweaty hands.  
"Are you alright?" Sirius asked, because Sage's eyes were sparkling with unshed tears, and they didn't seem to be because of a hex.  
"He's such a _git_..." She muttered. "He _knows_...he never used to be like that..."  
"Like what?"  
"Like nothing. Don't worry about it."  
"No!" Sirius sounded annoyed, and Sage looked at him in surprise.  
"No?"  
"No! No! You are not going to say don't worry about it, because that just makes me worry about it! You are going to tell me what's going on, before I find out myself in the wrong way. What haven't you told us?"  
"Sirius-"  
"If you don't tell me, I'm going to ask Malfoy."  
"You wouldn't!"  
"I would, and I will if you don't tell me. I know that you're allowed secrets, and you don't have to tell everyone everything, but this thing, it's seems big, and it's hurting you."  
"Yes!"  
Sirius jumped at the passion and anger in her tone.  
"Yes! It's hurting! It kills because I know that it doesn't matter what I do, if people know, they'll look at me funny and judge me and I'm sorry, Sirius, but I don't want that. Maybe it's not very _Gryffindor_ of me, but I don't want people to know. Because, once people know, they want to know more. It's like a Dementor; it can't take just one happy memory, people can't just know one thing. Then you'll put two and two together and realise other things and you'll want to know more, and I _can't_..."

"Fly, we can help, we might even understand-"  
"You will understand! You will! You, especially! And that makes me feel stupid, because you know what I've been through, and you didn't hide it, you wore it like your armour, you defied them, but I'm not brave enough, and I can't. I feel stupid, you know, because you know exactly how I feel, and you didn't hide it, you were proud of yourself, and I'm not as brave as you Sirius, I'm not. This is why I've got bruises, I know that you've noticed them, and why I've got scars, and why I don't go to see my brother, it's because...it's because..."

Sirius was dying to speak, to hurry her up, to get to the answer, but he knew that he had to wait, to let her get it out in her own time.

"I lied to you guys. I lied about something really simple. My name isn't Sage Dawson."  
She took a deep breath, drinking in the cool air like it was her last breath.

"My name is Sage...Sage Draco Malfoy."

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Except for:  
Review!  
And, thank you,  
She-who-loves-fanfiction xx  
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	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I** ** _do_** **like writing about it.  
Thank you to the people who have reviewed, and keep it up!  
Enjoy xx**

Sirius was having trouble saying proper words.  
"I...you...but...how... _what_?"  
"I know, I know, it's _huge_ , and I didn't tell you, but I'm sorry, I couldn't..."  
"You...but...what...I don't...I don't understand... _what_?"  
"It's just, they would've...and I can't..."  
"Hang on, _what?_ "  
"And you can't tell them!"  
"Hold up, so you're Malfoy's _sister_?"  
"Yes, yes, and you can't tell them!"  
Tears sparkled in her eyes, and she wrung her hands, obviously very agitated.

Sirius was still reeling from the shock of this revelation, but he tried to remain calm.  
"Look, Fly, they'll get it. They'll be fine with it. You're not your family, and we know that!"  
"Yes, but I lied to you, and I'm so sorry, but I just..."  
With that, she put her hand in her hands and began to sob.  
Now, Sirius did not have much experience with crying girls. Screaming women, yes, crying girls, no. Putting his arms awkwardly around her, Sirius rubbed her shoulder, praying that she wouldn't keep crying. Luckily for him, she took a deep breath a minute later and composed herself.

"Sorry for crying all over you." She smiled weakly, and pulled her school bag higher up her shoulder, wiping her eyes.  
"OK, Sirius, we better get to class."  
"No, wait, hang on a minute!" Sirius was still confused. "You're the Malfoy's eldest daughter, aren't you?"  
Sirius wasn't sure why he was asking that, but it felt important.  
"I'm their only daughter. Can we go?"  
"Yes, but..."  
"But what?"  
"Nothing..." Sirius said slowly.  
There was a memory, tantalisingly close, something to do with the Malfoy's eldest daughter, and he _would_ remember, he just had to _think_.

Sage was looking at him expectantly, looking nervous, and that shook him out of his reverie.  
"Sorry. Right. History of Magic. Let's go."  
They set off down the corridor, looking around for Malfoy as they went, and they reached History of Magic just in time.  
Just before they went in, Sage stopped for a minute, hands shaking and Sirius instinctively reached and grabbed her hand, wanting to stop them from shaking. She looked at him in surprise, they both blushed and he let go quickly.  
Blushing furiously and avoiding each other's eyes, they both walked in and sat down in their seats near the back. It was halfway through the 'lesson' that Sirius remembered where he'd heard about the Malfoy's eldest daughter. It was from the night he ran away and went to the Potters.

 _"Sirius! Get dressed! Now!"  
"And why should I do that, mother?"  
"Get dressed!"  
"I am dressed, dear mother."  
"Put on your dress robes!"  
"What's the occasion?"  
"I said get dressed!"  
"I am, mother, jeez! What's the occasion?"  
"It's a ball, and you better behave! You'll be meeting your betrothed."  
"WHAT?"  
"Malfoy's eldest daughter, you're going to ask her tonight. Now brush that blasted hair of yours!"  
_Then he'd left.

Sirius turned to Sage, looking wild, as she started to make notes on the goblin war of 1756, and nudged her.  
"What is it?"  
"You...I mean, I remember...the ball...that night...did you know?"  
"Excuse me?"  
"There was a ball," Sirius started, trying to keep his voice calm and controlled. "about a year ago, when I was sixteen."  
Sage was starting to look panicked.  
"And that night was the night that I ran away from home."  
Sage was definitely panicking now.  
"And the ball, it was to announce something. Something that I completely forgot about. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"  
"N-No...S-Sirius...I..."  
"You do. You must have known. That's why you panicked when you saw me. That night, I was supposed to ask for your hand in marriage."  
Sage now looked like she was about to faint.  
"Sirius..."  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Sirius tried to keep his voice soft.  
"It was a long time ago, and it never _actually_ happened-"  
"No, but it would have, wouldn't it?"  
"Probably, yeah."

She looked down at her parchment, avoiding his eyes, and he exhaled loudly, leaning his head back. Then a note flew onto his desk.  
( **JAMES,** _SIRIUS)  
_ **You okay?**  
 _Does it look like it?_  
 **What happened?**  
 _It's a long story_  
 **Well, we've got all lesson**  
 _I'm not supposed to tell anyone_  
 **Come on...**  
 _Prongs stop it_  
 **I won't tell**  
 _Fly's second name isn't Dawson_  
 **OK what is it then**  
 _That's the part I can't tell you_  
 **Why not?**  
 _Because she said so_  
 **Come on please**  
 _James I can't_  
 **Why not?**  
 _Because she said so_  
 **It's not like I'm going to tell everyone**  
 _You better not_  
 **I'll ask her myself then**  
 _NO! Don't do that she'll know that I told you_  
 **Tell me then**  
 _I CAN'T_  
 **Please**  
 _Fine_  
 **Really?**  
 _Yes. Her real name is-_ **  
**

Sage grabbed the note out of Sirius' hand and scanned it quickly, face falling. With one swift motion, she ripped it in half and crushed it in her fist before moving her chair as far away from Sirius as she could. Knowing that he made a mistake, Sirius leaned closer to her.  
"Fly-"  
"I don't want to talk to you."  
"Please-"  
"No. I trusted you! And you were going to tell him, just like _that_?"  
"Look-"  
"Can you be quiet, please? I'm trying to work."  
"Fly-"  
"Sirius! Stop it!"  
"Fine." Sirius sulked, crossing his arms.  
They didn't speak to each other for the rest of the day.

* * *

"So what were you going to tell me earlier?"  
James asked, as they made their way across the grounds under the Invisibility Cloak.  
"It doesn't matter." Sirius huffed, and James exhaled loudly, looking indignant.  
"Well, it sounded like it mattered! If she's-"  
"James! Not _now_!" Sirius jerked his head discreetly towards a confused-looking Peter, and James thankfully seemed to understand.  
"Oh, right."  
"We can talk tomorrow, anyway."  
The full moon had risen, bathing the grounds in silvery light, and they ran as quietly as they could towards the Whomping Willow, shivering at the howling that sounded, just audible above the swishing of the trees.

 **Please review! I asked nicely!  
Bonsoir,  
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	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I** ** _do_** **like writing about it.  
Thank you to the people who have reviewed, and keep it up!  
Enjoy xx**

"It _hurts_..." Peter whined, holding out his arm, which was bruised and bloody.  
"Yes, I'm well aware of that Peter, seeing as you've told us, I don't know, a MILLION TIMES!"  
"Yes, but..." His voice trailed off as they reentered the Gryffindor common room, early morning light streaming in the through the windows and making them wince.  
"The light. It _burns_..." James moaned, and a voice from behind them made them all jump.  
"I knew it! You are _so_ a vampire." Sage emerged from the sofa, grinning, already dressed.  
"What are you doing up?" Sirius asked, but she ignored him.  
"Where's Remus? I would've thought he'd be reprimanding you about the presumably stupid thing you just did."  
"Nah, he's sick. I mean, his mum, she's sick. He's visiting her."  
"He said it was his nan." She muttered suspiciously, and the boys hastily corrected themselves.  
"Yeah, that's what I meant-"  
"He's probably hating it-"  
"Yeah, he loves his mum- I mean, nan. He loves his _nan_."  
"Okay? I'd change if I were you, before breakfast. Your clothes are all ripped. And that's...is that... _blood_?"  
"No. It's...hair dye. Right, let's get changed, boys!"

James, Peter and Sirius ran up the stairs to their dormitory, and Peter ran into the bathroom.  
"Dibs shower first!"  
Groaning, James and Sirius sat down on their respective beds and began to heal their cuts and bruises.  
"So, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"  
"It doesn't matter."  
"Uh, yeah it does. What's Fly's real name?"  
"Malfoy."  
"What about him?"  
"He's her brother."  
James' face went ashen. "And she didn't tell us? She lied?"  
"Yeah."  
"And you weren't supposed to tell me, right?"  
"Yep, so you can't tell anyone."  
"Can't tell anyone? Can't _tell_ anyone?"  
"Yes, you can't tell _anyone_."  
"Does Remus know?"  
"Remus..." Sirius muttered, feeling guilty that he had forgotten about one of his best friends.  
"I mean, they're practically going out."  
"I don't think I want a shower." Sirius mumbled, and James followed him down the stairs to the common room.

Sage was curled up on the sofa with a magazine, and she looked up as they entered.  
"That was quick."  
"Uh...yeah...it was...I suppose." James stuttered, and Fly studied his face for a moment, and then looked accusingly at Sirius.  
"You told him! You _actually_ told him!"  
"I didn't..."  
"Oh, come on, I'm not stupid."  
"Why did you lie?" James asked, and her face hardened.  
"None of your business."  
"You have to tell Remus." Sirius looked beseechingly at her, and she paled in anger.  
"I have to? I _have_ to? I don't have to tell anyone, anything. I told you because I thought I could trust you, and then you go telling anyone who asks!"  
Sirius started to speak, but she turned, set her magazine down on the table and walked over to the portrait hole, calling out as she left the common room.  
"Oh, and by the way, Remus already knows."  
"What?"  
"I told him ages ago."

* * *

"How could he not tell us? _How?_ " Sirius hissed, buttering his toast so violently that it cut in half.  
"She obviously told him not to tell us."  
"But she seemed so _upset_ when she told me, like she hadn't told anyone before."  
"Look, we don't know when, or why, how she told Remus, okay? We can just go ask him later."  
"Let's go and ask him now. It's Saturday, there aren't lessons, or have you forgotten what the weekend is? Come on!"  
James looked longingly at his bacon, rolled his eyes, then stood up and followed Sirius out of the Great Hall.

They burst into the Hospital Wing a minute later, bags swinging. Ignoring Madam Pomfrey's scandalised noise, they walked over to the corner, where Remus was lying in bed, flicking through the Daily Prophet.  
"How are you feeling, Moony?" James asked sympathetically, but Sirius ended the conversation before it could start.  
"What's Fly's last name?"  
Remus smiled, looking slightly amused. "She told you."  
"And you didn't tell _us_?"  
"No. She asked me not to, so I respected her privacy."  
Sirius was struggling to pick something to say that wouldn't get him admitted into a mental hospital, and finally landed on, "When?"  
"The morning she got the letter. She was upset, and I asked what was wrong, and she told me. There's nothing complicated about it."  
"But you didn't tell us!"  
"Yeah, she asked me not to."  
"But...but...why did she tell _you_?"  
"Because she likes him, you prat!" James cut in, Remus' face flushed, and Sirius scowled.

"Speaking of secrets, I think I'm going to tell her."  
"Tell her what?"  
"About my...you know, my...furry little problem."  
"Really?"  
"She trusted me to keep her secret, so I think I can trust her with mine. Did she really just tell both of you? Just like that?"  
"Well, she told me, and then I told James..."  
"Sirius!" Remus looked scandalised. "If Pomfrey would let me out of bed right now, I would slap you. That was _so_ stupid!"  
"I know, but I can't say no to James."  
"Shame." Remus muttered, and then he folded the paper. "Can you ask her to come?"  
"We already told her that your nan was sick."  
"And she believed that? I told her that it was my aunt."  
"The little..." James swore under his breath, and Remus frowned.  
"What?"  
"She said that you said it was your nan who was sick. We basically told her that we were lying. Merlin's beard...she must know something's up by now."  
"Well, she's not an idiot."  
"That's what she said."  
"It's true. Can you ask her to come, please?"  
Sirius went to interrupt, but James nudged him in the ribs.  
"Of course we will. Come on Sirius." James practically dragged his friend out of the hospital wing, and down the corridor, where they bumped into Lily, who was carrying a load of books.

"Hi Evans!"  
Lily looked slightly perturbed, but smiled.  
"Morning."  
"Are you going to the library?"  
"Yep. Madam Pince will be after my blood if I don't get these back this morning."  
"Here, let me help." James took the heavy books from her, and starting followed her to the library, both of them chatting amiably.  
"Eww." Sirius muttered, rolling his eyes as he walked next to them. "James is in love."  
The scary thing was, though, that neither James or Lily bothered to contradict him.

 **Are Fly and Remus EVER going to get together? Ever? Like, come on, Remus, ask her out already!  
Wow, I'm talking to fictional characters.  
Adios,  
She-who-loves-fanfiction xx  
(Oh, and review. Please.)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I** ** _do_** **like writing about it.  
Thank you to the people who have reviewed, and keep it up!  
Enjoy xx**

"Sirius, give it a rest already!"  
"Yes, but-"  
"I don't care if it was a betrayal of our trust or whatever it was you were saying, but it is eleven o'clock at night and I have to get up at five for Quidditch practise. So shut it!"  
"Fine." Sirius hissed, clambering into bed and crossing his arms in what is universally acknowledged as a strop. Peter sat up in bed sleepily, and added:  
"Sirius, do you like this girl?"  
"But...I...what...madness...I don't...preposterous...you're mad...that's mad...I don't..."  
"Yes, Pete, he does."  
" _Prongs_!" Sirius gasped. "What...that's not true...I don't..."  
"Whatever, Pads, but you better get over it, because I think Remus' going to ask her out."  
"Remus? Nah."  
"Ok, Sirius," James sounded amused. "Just don't get too attached. I mean, she's a _Malfoy."  
"_What's _that_ supposed to mean?"  
"Only that she'll probably swan off to be with her own kind soon enough."  
Sirius shot straight up in bed, livid. " _What_ did you just say?"  
James laughed and laughed, cleaning his glasses on his duvet. "But you don't like her, Sirius."  
"Oh, go play in a volcano." Sirius snapped waspishly, and James chuckled as Peter turned out the lights.  
"Night!"

* * *

Breakfast was tense, with Remus still in the Hospital Wing and Sage blatantly ignoring Sirius, but it only got worse.  
"Oh Merlin..." Sage's hands started to shake as the ferocious-looking owl came swooping down with yet another pure black envelope. Sirius eyed her worriedly, but said nothing.  
He'd heard she was good at the Jelly-Legs Jinx.  
"No...no...no...not then...no...no...no...argh!"  
"You alright, Fly?" Lily peered up at her as she spooned cereal feverishly into her mouth, and the other girl nodded.  
"Just some...bad news...will Remus be back today? You know, from his aunt's? Or was it his nan?"  
"His nan." James said through gritted teeth, and she nodded, looking distracted.  
"Great. What time will he back?"  
"Probably around now."  
"Really? Awesome. I'll see him in a bit then."

She folded up the letter, shoved it in her pocket and kept eating, though she was considerably paler now. A few minutes later, unnoticed by the group, Remus Lupin slipped inside the Great Hall and snuck up behind Sage.  
"Enjoying your breakfast?"  
Giving a little shriek, Sage spun around and grinned up at the werewolf, sliding over on the bench so that he could sit down and help himself to toast.  
"How's your nan?" Lily asked, and Remus faltered slightly.  
"She...err...she's getting better...she's got some new medicine..."  
"Well, that's good." The redhead remarked, finishing off her cereal, and then she stood up.  
"Where are you going, Lily?"  
"The Owlery." The girl in question looked confused at James' sudden interest.  
"I'll come, if you don't mind. I've got a letter I want to send to my mum."  
"Alright then."  
The pair left the Hall, and no one spoke for a moment.

"I'm off to the common room."  
Sage stood up, straightened her robes, and Remus followed her out of the Hall, both of them deep in conversation.  
Sirius sighed.

An hour later, Sirius went up to the boys' dormitories to find Remus, chucking crumpled balls of parchment at the wall.  
"Moony? You okay?"  
"Stupid...stupid...stupid..."  
"Remus? What's going on?"  
"I told Fly about me being...what I am."  
"And? How did she take it?"  
"She started crying."  
" _What_? Why?"  
"I don't know. Apparently she knew someone, or something. Stupid, stupid, stupid."  
"No, she's being stupid. If you hadn't have told her-"  
He was interrupted by a sharp rap on the door.  
"Hello?"  
"Who is it?"  
"It's Fly. Is Remus in there?"  
"Why? Want to start crying over him again?"  
" _Sirius_!" Remus hissed, and Sage's voice was suddenly cold and hard.  
"Fine. See you around."

The boys could hear her footsteps thudding lightly on the dorm stairs, and then Remus rounded on Sirius.  
" _What did you do that for_?"  
"Look, if she can't handle the fact that you've got a furry little problem-"  
"She got another letter from her parents today." Remus interrupted, voice rising in volume. "And they want her to marry someone, someone next August, and she started telling me about it, and I wasn't really listening, and now _you_ , you have messed it up!"  
"She's the one who cried about your condition."  
"I don't really care! I was hoping she'd come and see me, and now you've gone and...argh! I'll see you in a bit."  
He stormed out, or as close to storming out as someone as calm as him could manage.

Sirius rolled his eyes, and went down to the common room, huffing and puffing.  
"What's wrong with Moony?" James was sitting in an armchair, scribbling away at his essay.  
"I kind of...umm...messed up."  
"Well, _that's_ a first."  
"Oh, shut up."  
"So, what happened?"  
"Well...I can't really...it doesn't matter. Can I use the Map?"  
"Nah, Pete's got it. He went down to the kitchens, to get some of that treacle tart he got an obsession with. He'll probably eat half of it on the way back."  
"Argh..." Sirius muttered, throwing himself onto the armchair next to James' dramatically. "Greedy rat."  
"What d'you need it for, anyway?"  
"Want to find out where Fly went. Remus went after her."  
Peter burst into the common room, arms laden with treats, and Sirius jumped up.  
"Map. Gimme!"  
Carefully extracting the Map from Peter's pocket, Sirius flicked it open and activated it, holding it discreetly to his chest.

"Galloping gargoyles." He cursed, pulling his wan out of his pocket.  
"What?"  
"Look." Sirius dropped the Map on top of James' lap and ran out of the common room.  
"Lucius Malfoy, and Sage Malfoy." James muttered. "Merlin's beard."

 **Hello! Did you like it? I hope you did.  
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Obrigada,  
She-who-loves-fanfiction xx**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I** ** _do_** **like writing about it.  
Thank you to the people who have reviewed, and please keep doing it!  
Enjoy xx**

The corridors were silent, strangely empty of people, and Sirius' footsteps echoed along with his gasping breaths in the stone chambers. It took him a minute to find where the Slytherins were, and he took a minute before he rounded the corner, catching his breath.  
Four boys stood in a semi-circle around Sage, who looked tiny as they loomed over her. Lucius was sneering at is sister, playing with his wand, and she stood there, stock-still, an almost amused look on her face.

"-And Mother's rather angry with you too, Sage dear. Not answering her letters, or something like that."  
"You know why I'm not answering those letters." Sage said quietly, perfectly composed, face cold and hard.  
"Oh of course I do, but it's such _fun_ to see you squirm!"  
"Is it now? Well, do your minions know the story of the Muggle girl down the road?"  
The pale boy flushed painfully red, and hissed at her, spit flying.  
"At least I get a say in who I'll marry."  
"I wouldn't marry that pathetic excuse for a boy if Merlin himself ordered me too."  
"It may not be Merlin, but father is quite insistent, you know. And no one wants to have bruises like that, do they now, Sage dear?"  
"I'd rather have some bruises than be putty in daddy's hands. Tell me, _Lucius_ , what's it like not having a say in your life?"

The other Slytherins watched as they bit at each other, heads swivelling back and forth like they were watching a particularly interesting tennis match. Sirius, however, strode forwards into the throng, drawing his wand.  
"What's going on?"  
"Back off, Black." Sage muttered out of the corner of her mouth. "This is family business."  
"Family business? Oh, yes, of course, this is _family_ business. And Sirius is a Black, after all."  
Lucius was smiling now, a strange predatory smile, like he was hunting his prey. Fly bit her lip, suddenly anxious, and drew her wand.  
"Shut up Lucius, or I swear to Merlin I will hex you so hard that your grandchildren feel it."  
He didn't seem fazed.  
"So, will you be there? 22nd August, at the manor?"  
"What are you talking about?"  
"Her wedding, of course."  
"Wedding? To who?"

"It's to whom, actually."  
Remus appeared from around the corner, and Sage visibly relaxed, shoulders drooping, wand arm relaxing.  
"Ah, Lupin. If you had a Galleon for every time you corrected someone, you might just have enough money to buy yourself a new set of robes."  
"Ah, Malfoy. If your dad had a Galleon for every time you said something stupid, he might just have enough to buy you the job that you're too stupid to get. Tell me, how easy is bribery? Sorry, scratch that, it must be easy, if you can manage it."  
Sage laughed, and Sirius would've, except he remembered that he was supposed to be angry at Remus.

"But, Lupin, surely you've heard the happy news?"  
"I can't say I have. Please, don't let me interrupt you. I was merely wondering whether it was possible to _buy_ a brain. Then Daddy might be able to get you one for Christmas."  
Lucius looked close to boiling over, and Sage grabbed Remus' hand.  
"Come on, let's go-  
"Oh you're not going yet, are you, _sis_? I hadn't finished."  
"I don't give a -" Sage swore savagely at him, and then turned on her heel and started to walk off, the two boys following her.  
"Oh, but Sage dear, I was just wondering if you were going to invite the blood-traitors. You know, to your wedding to Regulus Black?"

Sirius turned around so fast that he got whiplash.  
" _What?"_  
"Oh, yes, in August. I doubt you'll be invited though, Black, seeing as you're disowned, and all."  
Sage dropped Remus' hand and stalked towards her brother, wand pointed threateningly at his neck.  
"I will kill you. I will tear you into a million pieces, and I will feed the pieces to my owl!"  
"Oh, you wouldn't. Not to your darling brother. What ever would the Dark Lord think?"  
Sage stiffened then smiled sweetly up at her brother, eyes razor-sharp.  
"Voldemort can go to hell."  
Lucius reached out his hand with a snarl and back-handed her across the face, knocking her to the floor.

Then a lot of things all happened at once.  
Firstly, James and Peter came round the corner, saw the Slytherins and Fly on the floor, and put two and two together to make four.  
Four angry Slytherins, and four very angry Gryffindor boys.  
Remus let out a yell of anger and sent a neatly-placed jinx towards Malfoy, who grabbed his wand, and so they started to duel. James and Peter started to take out the boys in the background, and Sirius plowed his way through the other one, who was an exceptionally good dueler. A group of Ravenclaws came around the corner, saw the fight, and hastily turned around to go another way.

Sage picked herself up off the floor, hand on her face that was bleeding from where Malfoy's ring had cut it, and stormed her way towards her brother, who now resembled a jellyfish crossed with a kangaroo.  
No, I don't know what that looks like, but according to them that's what the prat resembled.  
Remus was clutching Lucius' wand triumphantly, and Sage picked up her own, pointing at what used to be her brother's face. When she spoke, her voice was quiet, and sad.

"Do you remember...we were nine, and you were being an idiot, and I told you so, and then you hit me. And then what did I say?"  
Silence.  
"I said you were just like Dad."  
More silence.  
"You said you weren't anything like him, that you were sorry, that you wouldn't hurt me, and I apologised too, I said I was wrong."  
There was a long pause as everyone waited with bated breath to hear what she had to say.  
"And you know what? I was right, what I said. You're just like Dad. I haven't forgotten, Lucius," Her voice rose in volume, teetering on the edge of tears, and he lifted up the sleeve of her robe to reveal a thin scar, long and angular.  
"And I will never forget. Have fun explaining this to Madam Pomfrey."

Sage turned slowly and walked off around the corner, leaving her brother and his friends lying in the corridor.  
She only made it a few steps before Remus jogged over to her and pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back comfortingly, burying his face in her hair.  
"Sshhh..it's okay, Fly. It's okay..."  
"Merlin, I...I'm sorry."  
"It's fine. Really, it's fine. Hey...Sshhh..."  
They stood there, in the middle of the hallway, arms around each other, and Sirius turned away, feeling sick.

 **Ooooh! Sirius is _jealous_! Sirius is _jealous_!  
Siriusly, though, reviews make me update faster, so don't forget to hit that ' _review_ ' button!  
Thanks!  
Buenos noches,  
She-who-loves-fanfiction xx**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter! *crosses arms in a strop and huffs*  
A/N: Thank you to thirteenth phoenix and thirteenth soul for reviewing! I like cliffhangers, if you hadn't noticed. And no, it is isn't fair. :)  
A/N: I had to do a bit of a time jump in this chapter, just to move things along!  
Enjoy xx**

Sage and Remus had started holding hands in the corridors.  
This irked Sirius, because for some reason, he got homicidal urges when he saw them doing that.  
That meant that he was forced to stay away from Remus, which was sad, because he quite liked Remus, and he missed the boy's endless sarcasm, however Sirius was sure that a brutal double murder of two of his best friends would make breakfast a bit awkward.  
He missed Fly too, but he tried his best to ignore that. After all, she was annoying...and stubborn...and not at all funny or sweet or flirty or hot.  
Nope.  
Weeks passed like seconds, and Sirius started to relax as it neared the Christmas holidays. After all, he went to James' place then, and Remus could take his stupid hand-holding girlfriend somewhere else.

It was three days before they broke up for Christmas that Sage got another letter at breakfast. She didn't bother trying to hide who it was from, just tossed it to Remus with an exasperated sigh.  
"The...the... _trolls_!" Remus spat, normally pale face flushed, and Lily nudged Sage with her elbow.  
"What do they want now?"  
"Apparently I've got to stay at _Regulus'_ for Christmas." She stole a quick glance at Sirius, who instantly closed up, face suddenly emotionless.  
"Avoid the third bathroom on the left on the second floor. There's a ghoul in the medicine cabinet."  
"Right. Thanks."  
"Are you going to be okay?" That was James, who was shovelling food into his mouth at a slightly alarming rate.  
"Yeah," She scoffed, obviously trying to hide her worry. "Yeah, I'll be fine."  
Remus still looked concerned, amber eyes creased with worry, but left her be and poured himself out some coffee.

Packing to go home for the holidays was always a tricky business, especially when you considered the fact that Sirius shared a dorm with three boys, none of whom were very tidy apart from Peter, and who constantly borrowed each other's clothes, usually by accident. After several cries of: "Those are my shoes!" and, "Get your big foot off my leather jacket, Prongs!", they were all packed and ready to go. They had all planned to come back five days early to spend some of the Christmas festivities at Hogwarts; Peter coming back from his mum's, Remus coming back from his dad's, and Sirius and James coming back from the Potter's.

The train journey was full of jokes and laughter as the seventh years' cleared the trolley of sweets and played a rather enthusiastic game of Truth of Dare, which involved Peter kissing a Chocolate Frog, Sirius proposing marriage to Narcissa Black, and, perhaps most memorably, Sage running through the central corridor, screaming that the Nargles were coming to get her. Unfortunately though, they _whooshed_ into King's Cross Station in little under four hours later, tired out. Their laughter quickly sobered, they clambered off the train, ready to say goodbye.

"You are writing to us every day! Understand?"  
"Yes James." Sage laughed, but she was biting her lip anxiously.  
"And if you need us, you owl us straight away and one of us will come and get you! Got that?"  
"James-"  
"Got that?"  
"Yes, I got it. Now, can I please say goodbye?"  
She threw her arms around James' neck, and he chuckled, only half serious as he reprimanded her.  
"Now, now, Fly, we can't have you losing decorum in front of your betrothed!"  
Said betrothed was just getting off the train, and Sirius turned away, not wanting to watch.  
Sage muttered something abut where he could stick her betrothed, and James laughed as he let her go.  
"Same goes for me, okay? Every day!"  
"Lily, I might not have time-"  
"I don't care! At least every two days!"  
"Okay, okay. I'll miss you, Lils."  
"I'll miss you too!"  
The girls hugged, and then Sage pulled a surprised Sirius into a hug.

"I never really got to thank you for what happened in September. It's good to know someone has your back."  
"Yeah," Sirius said, watching as James blushed when Lily kissed his cheek. "It is."  
"I'll see you soon, yeah?"  
"Of course. And remember, every day!"  
"Yes, Mum!" She laughed, a light, pretty sound.  
Sirius went over to collect his and James' trunks, not wanting to see Remus and Sage say goodbye, but even as he meandered back with the trunks on a trolley, they were still standing there. Remus kissed her on the forehead, and she gave his hand one last squeeze, waved, and then went over to join the rest of the Blacks, who were clustered around Regulus like a moth to a flame, glaring at anyone and everyone.

As promised, Fly wrote to James and Sirius every day: funny, short little letters that made them both smile.  
 _Their Royal Marauding Highnesses,  
'Sup? I'm bored. Really bored.  
The grumpy old house-elf here said I was a blood-traitor this morning. I asked it when its head was going to be cut off and stuck on the wall.  
He looked a bit offended, for some reason.  
Nothing else to report!  
Write back ASAP, I have run out of reading material. Can you ask Remus to send a book?  
Adios, Buenos tardes, and all of the above,  
Her Royal Boredness x  
_

Therefore, as requested, they wrote back. Sometimes James wrote a reply, sometimes Sirius wrote a reply, sometimes they wrote one together, and sometimes they wrote one each. They were silly letters, filled with details of pranks and jokes and ways to annoy Remus. Sirius was still secretly worried, but pretended he wasn't because she was _fine_.

It was the day before Christmas Eve, when the letter came. It wasn't a really, a letter, actually, just a line, scribbled hastily, words spiky with panic. James unfurled the small slip of parchment, scanned it quickly, and stood up.  
"Sirius!"  
Then Sirius read it, and James scribbled a quick note to Remus.  
And this is what the letter read:

 _I need to get out of here._

 **Cliffhanger! Mwa ha ha ha ha!  
Please review! Pretty please!  
Goodnight,  
She-who-loves-fanfiction x**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Or Percy Jackson.  
A/N: Thank you, KidFlash14! I love Rick Riordan! And cliffhangers! Anyone who is reading Broken but Beautiful will know that! ;)  
A/N 2: Hi, Raven-who-flies-at-night, (I love your username) I'm glad you like it, and here's another chapter!  
Enjoy xx**

 _I need to get out of here._

Sirius dropped the note.  
"Ah, how can we get her out of there, Sirius?"  
There was a moment of scary silence.  
"Sirius!?"  
Sirius was still standing there, looking at the letter on the floor.  
"Sirius Black, I need your help!"  
"Right, yeah, sorry." Sirius looked away from the letter and promptly started to panic. "Galloping gargoyles what are we going to do?"  
"Could we Apparate in there...or something?"  
"No, it's bloodlines...I could!" Sirius cried out, suddenly alert, gesticulating wildly. "She'll probably be in the left guest bedroom and...okay. Okay, I can do this."  
"Do it then! What are you waiting for? Go get her!"

Nodding vehemently, Sirius Disapparated with a faint _pop_ , and reappeared in a dark, narrow hallway, mounted with portraits of his relatives.  
"It's the blood traitor!" One old bat cried, pointing her gnarly finger at Sirius, who stuck his tongue at her childishly, before running along the length of the corridor.  
"I'll get Walburga, Pollux!"  
The same witch hobbled out of the corner of her frame, shrieking about blood traitors and disgraces to noble families, as Sirius rounded the corner and bumped, with a _thump_ , into his brother Regulus.  
"Sirius? What are you-"  
"I haven't got time, Reg, just move out the way." Sirius growled impatiently, and the younger boy crossed his arms stubbornly.  
"If you're here for Sage-"  
Sirius stopped then to employ some of his favourite swear words, and pushed past his brother, who grabbed his arm, his voice low.  
"She's in the room at the end. Look, I tried my best, she'll be alright, she's pretty shaken up. Make sure she's okay. Mum'll be up in a minute-"

At that, Sirius ran down the corridor, and knocked impatiently on the door. Thundering footsteps sounded on the stairs, and Sirius groaned before forcing the door handle. Sage whirled around from where she was leaning against the table, wand raised, hair hanging over her face, and gasped as she saw Sirius.  
"Sirius, what-"  
Walburga Black appeared in the doorway, and Sage screamed in surprise, lifting her head up slightly, so that Sirius could see her face.  
"Fly, God...your face. What happened? What did she _do_?"  
"Sirius!" She shrieked, face fearful, so he grabbed her arm and Disapparated.

As soon as they appeared again in James' bedroom, Sage sunk to her knees, head in her hands, sobbing. James rushed over, breathing heavily, face alight with panic as Sirius knelt down beside her, rubbing her back comfortingly, face venomous.  
"What happened? Is she okay?"  
"I don't know, I didn't really get to see... Fly? Can we see what happened? We just want to make sure that you're okay."  
The crying girl gave one last sob, then took a great shuddering breath to calm herself down, and wiped her face on her sleeve.  
And then she looked up.

Her face was a mass of tearstains and bruises, mapping across the left side of her face, and there was a thin cut on her forehead, long and angular, similar to the one on her arm. She had a black eye, which was swollen and puffy, and her lip hadn't healed from where she'd been biting it. James swore, disgusted, but Sirius just looked angry, like he wanted to go find the nearest Death Eater and tear them to pieces.  
Sage reached up to touch the cut with a shaking hand, and whimpered as her finger touched it.  
"Let me get my mum, she's a Healer, she'll be able to help."

Fly didn't object, so James jumped up and jogged out to get his mother. Closing her eyes, the injured girl sniffled and leaned against Sirius, who pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back, resting his head on her shoulder. Neither of them spoke for a minute, and when one of them finally did speak it was Sirius, his voice low and quiet.  
"Who was it?"  
"Your mother. Regulus was great, you know. He tried his best to help, but..."  
"Well he should have tried harder!"  
"I don't blame him, Sirius. You shouldn't either."  
"If I hadn't have left-"  
"But you did. You left, and I'm glad you did. Now, stop blaming yourself."  
"Fine."

"Is Remus...does Remus know?"  
"James owled him. He'll probably be around in a minute."  
"OK then."  
Sage leaned against him for support; she was shaking.  
"I missed you guys."  
"We missed you too."  
"What happened? Why did she...?"  
"I said I wouldn't marry her son."  
"I'm sorry."

James reappeared in the doorway with the brown-haired lady that Sirius recognised as James' mother.  
"Are you alright, sweetheart?"  
Sirius let go of Sage as Mrs Potter came and sat on the floor next to them, and James jerked his head towards the door.  
"I'll go and get Remus, in case he doesn't know where to go."  
"Okay."  
Pushing Sage's hair out of her face, her face crinkled with worry as she saw the bruises. "Oh honey..."  
"I know." Fly muttered. "It hurt."  
"I'm sure it did...can you take your glasses off for me?"  
"Uh-huh." After placing her glasses carefully in Sirius' hand, she looked up at Mrs Potter, eyes slightly unfocused.  
"Alright, I've got some ointment that will get rid of them," Mrs Potter gestured to the bruises, "But for the cut...what spell was it?"  
Sage smiled bitterly, rubbing her good eye. "It's a form of Slashing spell, but changed slightly so that it will keep hurting even while it's healing. My father...he liked to play around with spells like that. Make them more painful. I've got another one," She pulled up her sleeve with a wince and showed Mrs Potter the scar on her arm. "That's the same spell."  
"Was that...your dad?" Sirius asked tentatively, boiling inside.  
"No," There was a strange expression on her face, like anger and sadness all at once. "That was my brother."  
" _What_?" Sirius' voice was deadly, and Mrs Potter shushed him, before leaning in to have a good look at it.

The stairs creaked as two boys came running up them, and Remus burst in, then was instantly kneeling next to Sage, who let out a little gasp.  
" _Remus_!"  
"Oh God, what _happened_? Are you okay?"  
"I...I'm fine." She leaned forward, so that her hair covered her face, and he pushed her hair behind her ears.  
"Oh _Fly..._ "  
"I'm alright. Hurts a bit."  
Remus lets out a low hiss of anger, and pulls her into a hug, eyes troubled.

 **Hello! I hope you liked this chapter! No cliffhanger this time!  
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	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is still not mine. Woe is me!  
A/N 1:I like your idea, thirteenth soul. I might just do it, so look out for that!  
A/N 2: *claps appreciatively* Nice poem, Thirteenth Phoenix. Here's your update!  
Enjoy xx**

It was around fifteen minutes later that Sage realised something.  
"All my stuff is still _there_."  
"I'll go and get it."  
Sirius stood up and Disapparated, before anyone could object.

He could hear his mother screaming in rage downstairs, and ran down to see her, fingering his wand.  
"Good evening, Mother."  
" _You_!" She screeched. "Get out of my house!"  
"Trust me, I don't to be here anymore that you want me to. However I come to say something, something important."  
"And what is that?"  
Sirius steps forward, pressing his wand against her neck violently.  
"Don't touch her, _ever_ again. If you do, I will hunt you down, and I will kill you. The only reason I'm not doing that right now is that I don't want it on her conscience."  
"Get out of my house!"  
"Gladly. I'm just getting her stuff, and I'll be on my way."

With that, Sirius strode out of the room and ran up the stairs to the guest rooms.  
"Sirius! What are you doing here?"  
"I'm just getting Fly's stuff, Reg."  
"Look, you can't just come in here-"  
"Did you see her?" Sirius snarled, breathing heavily. "Did you see what _your_ mother did to her?"  
"She's your mother too, Sirius." Regulus said quietly, face sad.  
"No she's not." Sirius hissed. "Not anymore."  
"It doesn't matter. What does is that if you don't bring Sage back, both her family and ours are going to kill her for it."  
"If you think I'm bringing her back here you've got another thing coming, Regulus."  
Sirius went to go in the guest room Sage had been occupying, and Regulus grabbed his arm.  
"Sirius?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Is she alright?"  
"She will be No thanks to you."

Turning away, Sirius started to open the door, but then turned back to his brother, looking angry.  
"You just stood there, didn't you? You just stood there and watched as _your_ mother hurt her."  
"I couldn't have stopped her-"  
"Well you should have tried!"  
"I was never the brave one out of us, Sirius. That was always you."  
Gritting his teeth, Sirius stormed into the bedroom and began throwing everything vaguely feminine into the half-full trunk next to the bed. To his annoyance, Regulus followed him in and started helping him put the clothes into the trunk.  
"You don't have help. I can do it myself."  
"I'm sure you can, but I, unlike you, actually know what stuff's hers."  
"You think you know her, better than _me?"  
"_I never said that."  
"She hates you, you know. Said she'd rather die than marry you."  
OK, Sirius was exaggerating slightly there, but he was mad, and decided that didn't care anymore.  
"I'm sure she did."

Regulus picked up a book off the bedside table, studied it, and put it back down again.  
"Mother found a letter you had written to her, and told Sage that she had to end all contact with you immediately. She refused."  
"And then what? You stood and watched?"  
"There was nothing I could do-"  
"There's always something you can do." Sirius growled, sounding suddenly just like his Animagus. " _Always_."  
"I don't want to marry her, Sirius. I couldn't do it to her."  
"So call it off."  
"I can't. I'd need someone who's of age in both families to sign the document, and we'd need an overseer, and everything."  
Then Sirius had an idea.  
"Could I sign it?"  
"Theoretically...but we'd need a Malfoy. And it's...well...it's highly improbable that it would work."  
"But if it's improbable, that means that it's not impossible, so we could do it..."  
"Maybe?"  
"Then let's do it. I'll talk to Fly later, see what she thinks."  
If Regulus was surprised at the nickname or the decision he didn't show it. "Alright then."

They finished off packing up the trunk, and Sirius hefted it up on the bed.  
"I'm staying with Potters."  
Silence.  
"You could come too, if you want. Get out of this hellhole. The Potters wouldn't mind."  
Regulus shook his head. "My place is here."  
"Then on your own head be it."  
With that, Sirius gripped the handle of the trunk and Disapparated.

* * *

"Regulus thinks he might be able to end the marriage contract."  
"Does he now?"  
Sirius was sitting on the sofa in the now nearly empty drawing room, talking to a sceptical looking Sage.  
"Yeah. He reckons that I could sign for the Noble and Ancient House of Black, or something."  
"Right."  
Her tone was cold, and cutting, and Sirius crossed his arms.  
"Look, I was mad at him too-"  
"He _stood_ there. He stood there, and let her do that to me! He just STOOD there!"  
"I know, I know he did. Look, he means well-"  
"He wants to join the Death Eaters, Sirius! They _kill_ people! How can I...how can _you_..."  
"He's my brother, Fly."  
"I know that, but it's just...how? How can I...they _kill_ people! I've seen it! I've seen it! I've seen them bring a person to the manor, and they'll disappear suddenly, and you hear the scream, and they're dead. Because people like _him_ killed them!"  
"Reg wouldn't hurt a fly-"  
"He's not the boy you knew, Sirius!"  
"He wasn't always the boy you knew either." Sirius said quietly, and she looked at him, outraged, eyes sparkling.  
"Could _you_ forgive him? Could you forgive him, if he just sat idly while they hurt _you_?"  
"I already have."  
"So he...they..." She seemed at a loss for words, and then sighed, running her hand through her hair. "Fine. What's the plan?"

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	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Hello! I do not own Harry Potter! Thanks!  
Enjoy xx  
**

"James, do you understand the Transfiguration essay McGonagall set?"  
"Yes, you've got to write about the importance of precision in wand movement while performing Cross-Species Transfiguration."  
"Urghh..." Fly groaned, flopping down on the sofa next to him with her textbook in her hand. "That sounds like _fun_..."  
"You could always do what I'm doing." Sirius piped up from the armchair next to fire in the Potter drawing room.  
"What's that?"  
"Wait until the last minute and copy off Remus."  
At the mention of the werewolf, Sage blushed furiously and avoided their gaze.  
"No thanks. I want to be prepared. Do either of you have some ink? I ran out of black."  
"There's probably some in the drawer."  
James pointed helpfully at the desk, and Fly hopped up and went to get it, then spun around at the sound of two owls tapping at the window.

Sirius went over to help her open the rusty old window, and then swore under his breath as a familiar screech owl fluttered over and landed on Fly's arm.  
"Well _yay_." She took the letter, and the bird nipped at her hand aggressively before soaring off out of the window. The letter was black once again, and her hands shook as she opened it up.  
"Then we'll...but what if...no no _no_!" She muttered angrily, and looked up at them helplessly. Sirius jumped as the second owl nipped at his hand, impatient.  
"Oh, sorry..." He took out the letter, stroked the familiar owl and let it go.

 _Sirius,  
Mother's livid. I wouldn't come back anytime soon if I were you. She's threatening to rip your throat out.  
I wouldn't put it past her.  
Listen, I get the feeling that Sage is annoyed with me. I wouldn't blame her.  
However there's one thing I need you to do. Tell Sage that she needs to put on the brooch. She'll know what I mean.  
Regulus Black_

"Um...Fly? My brother said you need to put on the brooch? What does this mean...?"  
Sage frowned. "The brooch? That's only for emergencies...and I don't know where it'd take me. Why would he want me to do that?"  
"I don't know?" Sirius shrugged, and James stood up.  
"What is it, your house item?"  
"Yeah." Sage nodded, and Sirius found himself nodding along.  
"If I put it on, it's supposed to go to the nearest safe place...but that might be Malfoy Manor for me. I'm not sure."  
"It's probably here." James went around to her. "It'll be fine. If he's saying to put it on...well I doubt he'd do it to hurt you."  
"He might." She murmured darkly, but shook her head and went to go and get the ink from the drawer. "I'm going to do my essay in my room, okay?"  
"See you in a bit." James called, and she left, clutching her textbook and the ink, leaving her letter on the floor upside down.

James saw him looking and grinned. "You going to read it?"  
Sirius didn't answer him, but went over and picked up the letter.  
 _Sage,  
We expect you home no later than noon today.  
We are very disappointed in you. Mrs Black has described your actions in her home and they were disgusting.  
How dare you besmirch the Malfoy name by acting so inconsiderately towards the family of your fiancé! This will not go unpunished.  
Your brother is waiting for you in the grounds. Do not delay to pack up your things and leave.  
Abraxas Malfoy_

Sirius whistled unappreciatively. "They've really got a problem, haven't they?"  
"That bad, huh?"  
"They want her back by noon. So...fifteen minutes. Apparently they're going to 'punish' her."  
"Good luck with that, she's staying here." James said firmly, and Sirius held up the letter.  
"I'm going to go give this to Fly."  
James nodded, and picked up the Daily Prophet off the table.

Fly was working on the window seat in her room, and Sirius dropped the letter on the table discreetly before going to sit down next to her. She didn't look up, just made a sound of acknowledgement and kept reading. Sirius began to fidget, bouncing his leg up and down, and she put her hand on his knee to stop him, turning her page with her other hand.  
Sirius started biting his nails.  
Sage turned another page.  
Sirius stared at a fly on the windowsill.  
Sage shifted herself slightly and turned another a page, making a little noise as she did so.  
Sirius looked over at her, and she looked so...so _adorable,_ biting her lip as she scanned the page in front of her, tightening her ponytail and tucking a flyaway strand of hair behind her ear. She leans forward slightly, legs curled up under her, sleeves pulled up to cover her small hands, book propped up on her lap. Shifting slightly closer to Sirius instinctively, her arm brushed against his bare one, and she leaned forward to dip her quill in her ink, blouse riding up. The dark-haired boy coughed loudly and stood up abruptly.  
"You okay?"  
She looked up, and Sirius started a silent mantra in his head. _Remus, Remus, Remus, Remus.  
Remus.  
_She bit her lip.  
 _Blast Remus.  
_ It was on instinct alone that Sirius leaned in and kissed her.

Fly froze for a moment, shocked, and for a second Sirius thought she might have responded. Then she pulled away quickly, packed up her things and left quickly, stockinged feet making no sound of the wooden floor. Sirius sat there for a minute, an idiotic but unavoidable smile plastered across his face.  
Then he stopped.

 _I am such a traitor._ He thought. _I am a horrible, horrible friend._ _I kissed Remus' girlfriend!_ _How could I do that? I am an evil, evil person.  
_ Sirius couldn't fight the urge though, and jumped up, punching the air like a maniac.  
 _I kissed Fly!_

 **What. A. Traitor.  
Wow. Sirius. OMG. What about Remus?  
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	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: Thank you to Ms J.K Rowling, for allowing me to build sandcastles on her beach.  
A/N: Sirius really is a heartbreaker, isn't he? Please follow, favourite and review if you like it!  
Enjoy xx**

"Ready?"  
Fly nodded as she stood in the drawing room of the Potter manor, holding the beautiful emerald studded brooch between her forefinger and thumb, avoiding Sirius' gaze.  
"Yeah."  
She pinned the brooch to the front of her dress and took a deep breath, then spoke in fast, memorised Latin.  
" _Obiectum domum meam, et redde mihi salus."_

There was flash of bright light, a loud _whoosh_ , and Sage disappeared.  
"Where did she go?" Sirius asked worriedly, and James held up a hand.  
"Wait a minute."  
When nothing happened, James began to pace up and down. "It must have taken her somewhere else."  
"To where? Malfoy Manor?"  
"I don't know." James looked anxious, crossing his arms, and Sirius let out an angry huff, sitting down on the floor heavily.  
"What if she's in trouble, eh? What then?"  
"There's nothing we can do, Sirius."  
Sirius remembered what he'd said to his brother.  
"There's always something you can do. I'm going to owl Regulus."

A few minutes later, James' owl flew out of the window, a letter tied to his leg, and Sirius sat down again, tapping his foot impatiently.  
"And now we wait."  
The reply arrived ten nervous minutes later.  
 _Sirius,  
Sage must have gone to Malfoy Manor. I'll go over there and say that there are wedding things to sort out. She won't be able to leave Grimmauld Place, but at least she won't be there anymore. Mother has officially disowned you, you can no longer Apparate or Disapparate in and out of here.  
Regulus  
_

Sirius crumpled up the letter and threw it in the bin.  
"What? What did he say?"  
"Mother disowned me. He said he'll take her back to Grimmauld Place, but I won't be able to go and get her from there."  
"Couldn't he just bring her here?"  
"No, he hasn't got his Apparation licence yet. Urghh!" Sirius groaned, and James frowned.  
"Couldn't we just Apparate outside of your house and she could walk out the front door?"  
"There are all sorts of wards..." Sirius said helplessly, and at that moment a beautiful Patronus in the shape of a butterfly soared in through the window, and spoke with Fly's voice.

 _"Sirius, James, I'm at Malfoy Manor. I've barricaded myself up in my bedroom for now, but pretty soon the house elf will realise that I wasn't just going to the bathroom, and tell my parents. I...I don't really know what to do, surprisingly. Both of you, don't be stupid, and Sirius, you are one of the biggest idiots I have ever had the misfortune to meet. Don't let Regulus come, they might-"  
_ Her voice was cut off by a loud noise, and when she spoke again, her voice was hurried and panicked.  
 _"Don't let Regulus come, alright? I'll see you after Christmas. I-"  
_ Thee was a loud yell, and the Patronus vanished in an elegant swirl of silvery mist.

Sirius sat heavily down on the floor, heart sinking.  
"I'm going to owl Remus, let him know, okay?"  
James' voice cut through the silence that had settled on the room since the Patronus disappeared.  
Sirius thought of Remus, and all he felt was guilt.  
"Fine." He muttered listlessly, head filled with images of screaming girls and yelling parents.

James left the room, and Sirius laid back on the carpet, pale-faced, eyes stormy.

* * *

"Owl me tonight!"  
James' mum reminded him sternly as James and Sirius got onto the train, waggling her finger at them.  
"Both of you."  
"Yes, Mum." James groaned jokingly, and she kissed him on the forehead, smiling as he squirmed away.  
"Have a good term, and I'll see you soon!"  
They waved at her then climbed into the carriage nearest to them, looking into the compartments as they passed for any empty ones.  
"Remus!"  
"Hello, James, Sirius. How was your Christmas?"  
"Alright." They said together, sitting down. "Yours?"  
"Not bad. Mum's still unwell. Have you seen Fly?" He asked worriedly, and Sirius tensed.  
"Not yet."  
"I hope she's alright."

Peter came walking past, and Sirius tapped on the glass to get his attention.  
"Oi, Pete! You blind or something? We're in here!"  
"How are you?"  
The smaller boy sat down and started a conversation with James, but Sirius and Remus were looking out the window nervously.  
"Um...hi."  
Sirius span around so fast that he cricked his neck.  
Sage stood in the doorway, hair hanging over her face, fists clenched.  
"Fly!" Remus stood up, relief evident in his voice and went to her, moving to hug her. She flinched away.  
"Sorry." She muttered, embarrassed, and went to sit down, then stopped. "Can I sit with you guys?"  
"Of course." James' voice was clipped, too formal, restrained.  
"Thank you."  
Sage sat down on the edge of the window seat and pressed herself into the window like it would make her disappear.  
The boys stared at her for a minute, until Remus glared at them to stop, his hand inches from hers.  
"So..." James tried his best to start a conversation. "What about this weather we're having, huh?"  
Fly stood up abruptly. "It's splendid. Excuse me, I'm going to the bathroom."  
Sirius grabbed her wrist as she went past him and she seized up, then jerked it sharply out of his grasp.  
"Don't touch me!"  
With that, she left, her comment hanging in the air like an overhanging rain cloud.

"Did you see her face?" Peter whispered, and James nodded venomously.  
"What was wrong with it?" Sirius frowned, dreading the worst.  
"It looked like she'd been beaten up."  
Remus let in a sharp intake of breath and turned away from them, and Sirius curled in on himself, fingernails biting into his arm, like his own pain could somehow take away hers.

 **Drama...yep, things are going to be heating up!  
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	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: ...not mine.  
A/N: Sorry it's been a while, here is the next chapter. Hopefully a bit more will be revealed.  
Enjoy! xx**  
Sirius sighed sorrowfully as Remus curled up in a ball next to the window, still worried about what Fly had said.  
 _Don't touch me!_  
Sirius sighed again.  
"Having trouble breathing, Pads?"  
Sirius hissed something James was biologically unlikely to do with himself. Unless he was a snail.  
Which he was not.

"Oh, come on guys! You're being buzz-kills! Lets play Exploding Snap or something."  
Remus pulled his cloak over his face in the pretence that he was going to sleep; Peter rolled his eyes and shuffled the battered cards he had stuffed in his bag at last minute.

Sirius took the pile he was offered unenthusiastically and watched indifferently as James laid his first card.  
"Sirius," Peter nudged him with his elbow. "It's your turn."  
"Humph."  
Sirius threw his card down on the floor and it exploded with a puff of bright blue smoke.  
"Bad luck mate."  
"I didn't want to play anyway."  
Sirius snapped irritably, and stood up, dropping the rest of his cards on his seat, leaving without a word.

The corridor was emptier than it had been when they had boarded, but there were still clusters of first years nervously chattering, in his way.

"Excuse me." He muttered, and then rose his voice. "Oi! Move!"  
They did so hurriedly, intimidated by his tall stature and age, and Sirius swept past them without a second glance.

At the back of the train there was a small compartment, barely the size of the broom cupboard, often used by couples who hadn't seen each other over the summer and were looking to 'catch up'.  
However it was empty, as dusty and cramped as usual, so Sirius squeezed in and brought his knees up to his chest, ignoring the muddy prints he left on the old red seat. Resting his head on his knees, he ran his hand through his hair without thinking, and began playing absent-mindedly with the fraying edge of the curtain, unravelling the threads one by one.  
It was therapeutic, in a way, watching the carefully stitched fabric turn to little pieces on the floor.

There was a short, abrupt knock on the door, followed by a high-pitched giggle, and Sirius held up his middle finger in the direction of the closed door, which opened anyway.  
"Here is occupied!  
Go play tonsil tennis somewhere else."  
The blushing girls left quickly, and Sirius heard them burst into stunned laughter as soon as they were past the compartment and slammed the door violently.  
"Bloody pests..."  
Footsteps along the corridor made Sirius swear again, and James opened the door.  
"Go away."  
"No."  
James closed the door behind him.  
"What's up?"  
"Nothing."  
"Right. So that's why you're sulking."  
"I am NOT sulking!"  
"Oh yes you are. You're sulking because Fly snapped at you."  
"I am not." Sirius hissed, and James snorted.  
"Fine. But you are."  
"Get out."  
"Nah, don't feel like it."  
James sat down next to Sirius and propped his legs up on the sliding bolt of the door.  
"James-"  
"So you like her, right?"  
"I wouldn't have kissed her if I didn't like her!"  
"Uh, you might have."  
"Okay, fine, I like her. Big deal."  
"She's Remus' girlfriend."  
"Really? I hadn't noticed." Sirius snarled sarcastically and James chuckled.  
"Oh, you've got it bad."  
Sirius turned to his best mate with an venomous look in his eyes.  
"Oh yeah? How's Evans?"  
"That's different-"  
"Oh? How?"  
"For one, she's not dating anyone!"  
James was getting progressively redder and more indignant.  
"And, secondly, she has not got trust issues-"  
"Fly does not have trust issues!"  
James snorted.  
"Oh yes she does!"  
Sirius crossed his arms and brought them into his stomach, scowling.

"Look, mate, she's off limits, okay?"  
"Yes, I know, James!"  
Sirius snapped, and stood up.  
"I'm going back to the compartment."  
"Sirius."  
Something in James' voice made Sirius stop.  
"What?"  
"She's engaged to your brother."  
Sirius let out a growl, suddenly sounding just like the big black dog he could turn into at will.  
"Not for long, she won't be."  
With that, he stomped out of the cupboard, muddy shoes leaving footprints along the carpet.  
James sighed, and scooped up the little pile of threads on the floor with one large hand, dropping them onto the dusty windowsill.

* * *

"Did you have a good break, Lily?"  
"It was lovely thank you Remus," The redhead smiled at him across the table, raising her voice slightly to make sure she could be heard over the excited chatter that filled the Great Hall. "What about you lot?"  
"My mum took me to see the museums in New York," Peter said through a mouthful of roast potatoes. "With the Statue of Secrecy and all that."  
"Ooh, I'd love to see them. Isn't that where Grindelwald was defeated?"  
"Nah," James cut over Remus with a wave of his hand. "He was defeated by Dumbledore on a beach in Cardiff. He's in his prison now."  
"Nurmengard." Sage's quiet voice came out of nowhere. "He built it to hold his opponents. Now he's been thrown there to rot."  
A bitter smile crept across her face. "My brother loves him. Thinks he had all the right ideas, just didn't know how to execute them."

"He obviously didn't act all evil." Remus added. "He was friends with Dumbledore when they were young."  
"Really?" They all turned to look at him.  
"Yeah. According to my nan they both lived in Godric's Hollow."  
"Sorry, who is Grindelwald?"  
Lily look embarrassed at having to ask, and Sage smiled at her a little sadly.  
"Gellert Grindelwald is arguably the most dangerous Dark Wizard to have ever lived. He was expelled at 16 from the Bulgarian school for magic, Durmstrang, for nearly killing an eleven year old, and terrorised Europe and America during the 1940s. Basically he wanted to end the International Statue of Secrecy, the law that keeps magic secret from Muggles and the non-magical. Then in 1945 him and Dumbledore dueled, Dumbledore won, and Grindelwald has been stuck in Nurmengard ever since."  
"Nurmengard? Is it like Azkaban?" Lily looked deep in thought, drinking in the new knowledge.  
"Sort of. It's a bit bigger, but with no Dementors. Legend has it that Grindelwald is alone there now, the lone prisoner, held in the topmost cell of the fortress. And his motto is carved over the entrance."  
"For the Greater Good." Sirius finished.  
"That's another thing my family agrees with." Sage's hand drifted almost sub-consciously to the now make-up covered bruises on her cheek. "Everything is for the Greater Good."

Sirius held her eyes from across the table, and as the rest of the table shuddered and Lily started to question James on more wizarding history.  
"What I don't understand, James, is why we are taught about troll wars instead of the important things like Dark Wizards-"  
Fly's grey-green eyes seared into Sirius, and her lips barely moved as she mouthed something to him.  
 _I got a letter from Regulus.  
_ Sirius sighed.  
 _Oh, fantastic._

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End file.
